Hickory Dickory Dock
by OwlsCantRead
Summary: AU-branchoff from Episode 171. If Mirumo's punishment for remaining in the Human World after granting Kaede's wish was much harsher, how would the other humans and fairies be affected? Years later, Mirumo is allowed to return, but with one dastardly catch: no one whom he formerly used to know can recognize him… or else. *Completely rewritten!*
1. The Muglox Mandate

Words in _italics_ indicate character thoughts.

A/N: In light of returning to this story after a long break, I've made the decision of rewriting Chapters 1 to 11 so as to bring their quality up to that of my current work.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Muglox Mandate**

"Excuse me? Say again? I have to leave Kaede?"

Marumo twirled his mustache. "That's correct, Mirumo. Once a fairy grants his or her partner's true wish, the partnership between the two is cancelled and you would be unable to enter the Human World again. Of course, there's—"

The blue-clothed fairy interrupted his father, smacking his fist against his Fairy Watch in agitation. "Oi, oyaji! What's the meaning of this? You never mentioned any such regulation to me beforehand! What sort of nonsense is this!? I have to cancel my partnership? I can't enter the Human World again? Did you call me just to mess with me?"

"Well, you see…" Marumo tried to get a few words in from the other end of the call, but found himself unable to as his son carried on ranting at him brashly.

"That's utter rubbish! Are you trying to pull my leg? If this is true, then how is it that all my friends from Fairy School can use Mimomo's 'Fairies Anything' Shop to get here using their mugs however and whenever they so please?"

Marumo smacked his staff against the ground. "Will you be quiet and listen? Now, let me explain…"

Needless to say, Mirumo was not having a very good day. The rather ironic thing was that the day had actually started out rather well.

Earlier on, both Haruka and Azumi had directly and indirectly conceded to his human partner, Minami Kaede. The inglorious love triangle, no wait, some crazy love tetrahedron ripped straight out of some soap drama serial was finally being resolved. Quite frankly, Mirumo himself couldn't believe that it had all gone down so well. Furthermore, by some glorious coincidence, the handsome lad that all those girls were after, a boy by the name of Yuuki Setsu, happened to call Kaede just a few minutes ago to ask if he could meet her tomorrow at noon.

As Kaede was speaking on the phone, Mirumo suddenly noticed that his mug had started to glow. The glowing was so subtle that he didn't even catch it at first. Even he himself had never expected for this day to come.

A fairy's mug glowing could mean only one thing. It signified that wish that their human partner had originally made upon the mug was about to be fulfilled. This consequently also meant that the fairy had passed the ultimate test, succeeding in their Human World training since they'd successfully managed to grant their human partner's wish.

Long story short, it seemed as though Kaede's dream had finally come true after close to an entire year of sweat and tears. He had told her as much with unbridled joy on his face. "Oh yeah, my glowing mug? You see, a Muglox Fairy's mug only glows when their human partner's wish is fulfilled."

Upon hearing Kaede's gasp, Mirumo's smile went wider. He jumped onto her open palm excitedly. "Do you get what that means, Kaede? It means Yuuki-kun is going to return your feelings at the meeting tomorrow!" Once he told Kaede about this fact, the high school student became absolutely ecstatic. She was in such a good mood after she'd heard the news that it was surprisingly easy for him to extort chocolate from her.

What a wonderful day it'd been. If only his father Marumo hadn't called to drop this bombshell on him. Despite being a bumbling fool, his dad surely had enough authority to have known about this regulation, even moreso considering that he and Mom were the ones who'd wanted to send him off to the Human World for training in the first place. Of course, that was before he refused and had ironically wound up being chased there, quite literally, by Rirumu.

Ah, the Human World. How had a simple fairy like him wound up getting so attached to it? It was hard for him to believe that barely a few months ago, he would have been repulsed by the very idea of being partnered with a human. When and how had his opinion of the Human World turned around a complete one-eighty?

Although Mirumo couldn't pinpoint exactly when in the stint he'd begun to warm up to the idea, he could lock down the 'how' at the very least. It was all thanks to one blonde-hair high school girl, Minami Kaede. At the very start, Kaede was a textbook example of what Mirumo had anticipated humans to be. For starters, she had grabbed the blue-clothed fairy and tried to mouth off to her mother about a "monster" she had found in her mug the moment she'd summoned him.

"As if someone like me can be associated with a lowly monster! I'm the Muglox World Prince and she compares me to some freak of nature?" Mirumo seethed. "And how come Kaede thinks that I'm a monster but cuddles Murumo at first glance? Hey, hey, did I really look that bad to her?" he pondered.

He could see his friend Bike's face right now, chuckling and gloating at Mirumo's appearance being unintentionally insulted. The vain fairy would most likely say something like, "Ah, Mirumo… but you can never be as beautiful as someone like me. Ohhhh~"

The imagination that Mirumo had cooked up in his head was so vivid that he had to vigorously shake his head to rid himself of a mental image featuring a self-absorbed Bike obsessing over his image. Yes, Mirumo reflected, his eyes narrowing, that this name-calling incident between them shall be a secret that they would keep to their graves.

"…Anyway, you got that, son?" Marumo began to frown when he observed that his son was distracted. "Ahem! Are you listening, Mirumo? Mirumo!?"

He ignored his father, looking away from him with a huff. Gah, Mirumo couldn't care less about him now. His thoughts were mainly on Kaede and the day they met. He still remembered that he'd assumed that all humans in general were selfish, fickle-minded creatures. Therefore, a logical conclusion arose — if a love fairy appeared in front of them and offered to grant their wishes and hearts' desires, who _wouldn't_ take advantage of them?

And as he thought, after he'd bragged about his own magical skills, all but proving to her that he was indeed a real fairy, Kaede had tried virtually everything in her power to ensure that he would grant her wishes. It was pathetic, really, to the point where he decided that enough was enough and proceeded to give his honest thoughts to her.

 _"Give me a break!" Mirumo had yelled straight at her face, cutting her pleading short and basically stunning the girl into silence. "Do you think I'm stupid? The visit to the playground? Those pair of stuffy clothes? Trying to offer me more chocolate? I see what you're trying to pull here. You're only doing all of this for me just to try to take advantage of my magic!"_

 _He directed an accusing finger upwards, pointing it directly at the tip of her nose. "All humans are like that!" he continued, "That was why I initially refused to come to the Human World in the first place! Hmph! You all think that magic will solve all of your problems! Well, too bad. That's not true in the slightest! I'm here to tell you that this ain't no fairytale! You've got to work to get what you want! I refuse to use my magic to help someone who chooses to think that they can make use of me!"_

And that should have been that. After that good talking-to, Mirumo was all but certain that they were truly incompatible as a pair. Once he was certain that his parents had called off the engagement wedding with Rirumu, he would have gone back to his home, proceed to eat some chocolate, and forget about the whole incident. Basically, he would've ditched what he perceived to be an "ungrateful human", cutting off whatever miniscule bond that they might have had.

But incredibly, Kaede had proved him wrong. It turned out that his callout speech ended up being a huge wake up call to her. In response, in spite of her meek demeanor, she had decided to approach her crush on her own without utilizing his assistance. After seeing her sheer willpower, Mirumo had decided to give the girl a chance. And somehow, things had escalated from there. The two of them had ended up becoming irreplaceable partners throughout their many misadventures, to the point where Mirumo could honestly admit that he'd actually grown genuinely invested in Kaede's goals.

The chocolate that she'd constantly been supplying him was a secondary factor with that change in his opinion too.

Marumo's eyebrows began to twitch visibly after the constant prodding yielded no response. Finally, it got to the point where he was forced to yell in order to get his son's attention. "OI, MIRUMO!"

Mirumo jerked back from his father's flustered shout, which jolted him back to reality and was also a not-so-subtle reminder that he was supposed to be in a conversation with him. Rather embarrassingly, said conversation had been rather one-sided for the past few minutes due to him getting distracted by his thoughts.

Seeing Mirumo finally focused again, Marumo adjusted his crown and marched right on, "You have one hour after your partner's wish is granted. That's all the time you have. If you do not return to the Muglox World by then, then a grave punishment will befall you!"

This statement caught Mirumo's attention at last. "Grave punishment?" He cocked his head quizzically, "What grave punishment are you talking about?"

"Hm, well, I don't know," came a rather clueless reply from Marumo. "No fairy has ever broken this rule before, you see."

Mirumo felt like smacking his father. The only thing that was stopping the fairy was the fact that he would end up trying to smack a holographic image instead, and that was virtually useless since his palm would simply phase through the projected Marumo. Taking a deep breath to keep his anger down, Mirumo shot a curt response back, "Then how the heck do you know that the punishment is grave if you do not even know what it is?!"

"I don't know what the punishment is!" Marumo yelled, exasperated. "All I know is that it has to be something exceptionally serious! The Gaia Tribe were the ones who made this rule!"

 _The Gaia Tribe?_ Mirumo fought with every fiber of his being to remain calm at their mention. Marumo barreled on, not noticing his son's apprehension. "That automatically marks it as grave. You must come back immediately after your partner's wish has been granted. The time limit is one hour and that's final! Do you hear me!?"

In the end, Mirumo had it. Not with his father, but rather the topic itself. He placed his finger on the disconnect button of his Fairy Watch and simply cut off the connection. "Finally," he muttered to himself while heaving a relieved sigh, "I finally have some peace to think this stupid situation through…"

Mirumo was about to find out that he'd opened his big mouth far too soon.

 _Clink!_

"Wha-!" Mirumo jumped around, startled by the sudden noise.

It turned out that the clinking noise had come from the cup of hot chocolate that he'd previously asked Kaede to prepare for him. Said cup of hot cocoa was now on the floor, courtesy of one Minami Kaede. Who, based on the shocked expression on her face, had quite obviously heard everything that had just transpired between him and his father.

Mirumo was rooted to the spot, freezing up as he made eye contact with her.

Yep, so far this day had gone from good, to bad, to absolutely terrible.

* * *

That sorry excuse of a distraction really shouldn't have worked. But by some miracle, it did.

To be fair, the distraction in question was claiming that an army of octopuses were soaring outside of the window. And yet somehow, Kaede had bought the bluff. The girl never noticed Mirumo waving his maracas from behind. Shaking away feelings of guilt, he squeezed his eyes shut, yelling as he swung his maracas in her direction.

"Mirumo de Pon!"

* * *

Of course she'd objected. Kaede cared too much for Mirumo to let him go. But in the end, after living with her for so long, Mirumo had come to care for Kaede just as much. He couldn't just let this development get in the way of her happiness. Despite the fact that she loved her beloved Yuuki-kun, she was willing to let him go just to ensure that Mirumo could stay?

Heck no.

"Good," Mirumo muttered under his breath. "Kaede won't remember about what just transpired for the rest of tomorrow." He heaved a long sigh as he poofed his maracas away. "At least this way I won't get in her way of Kaede's date. She can hate me afterwards, but I hope she forgives me. It's for Kaede's own good, after all." Taking a glance back at the sleeping girl, Mirumo whizzed away to the night sky. "Hm… I'll definitely miss Kaede pampering me with chocolate though. Oh yes, I will!" he added as an afterthought.

Human-made chocolate was good! The way the humans were able to make such smooth, creamy, milky treats in bulk was arguably the most magical accomplishment that the Human World has done in Mirumo's eyes. In his opinion, Kumoccho was the greatest invention in the history of mankind.

As Mirumo flew away from Kaede's fifth floor apartment flat, little did the unsuspecting Muglox Prince know that he had just made the worst mistake of his life.

Or whatever was left of it…

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 21/5/2018._

So, yeah. I'm finally back. The original eleven chapters of this story were all written when I first opened this account, close to one year ago. As you might know, I've taken a decently long hiatus from this story because of personal reasons. However, this fic was my first and thus I'm not giving up on it. However, due to some quality issues, I'm rewriting the previous chapters before I continue on where I left off.

Anyway, the original concept for this story came from me pondering about the possibility of Kaede never finding Mirumo as easily (relatively, at least) as she did after the one-hour time limit ran out in the final two episodes of the series. Now, I never actually managed to reach the consequences that would stem from this the last time round, so here's hoping that this time I'll succeed where I faltered previously.


	2. Fly By Night

**Chapter 2: Fly By Night**

Nothing but dead silence.

There was barely a sound out in the streets baring the chirping of crickets or the occasional hoots from an owl. To begin with, this specific town was relatively quaint compared to say, the bustling cities of Japan like Tokyo and Osaka. As a result, human traffic was comparatively manageable during the day. People were able to walk out in the streets without feeling like they were in a meat grinder, getting squashed together like a pack of sardines.

Come nightfall however, and unlike a bustling city center like Tokyo, most people in this town would head straight home to take a break and be with their families. As the hour grew later, more and more lights would shut off as the townspeople turn themselves in for the night so as to ready themselves for the next working day. In the cold, dead midnight hours, almost everyone in the town was fast asleep. The only sources of light still around were mostly from the lamps scattered around the streets, and by chance tonight, the soft glow of the moonlight. The moon happened to be full on this very night, illuminating the surroundings in a cool blue light.

If a person was still somehow awake at this time and decided to walk across the town, say to buy a drink from the vending machines, they would see and hear no one but themselves. Nary a single soul around the area could be spotted out there on the vacant streets, and neither could a peep be heard with the exception of the clacking of their own footsteps.

Or so those ignorant humans would think. Of course, they have no idea. Unless a human had summoned a fairy with a mug of their own, humans in general were unable to see or hear fairies. The Muglox Fairies are virtually invisible, a non-existent entity to them.

And hence, if a human with the ability to be aware of fairies were to actually take a stroll across the same town right now, the situation would change quite unexpectedly, the main difference being that it wasn't quite as quiet as one would have expected.

* * *

"Oi, Rirumu! I've had it with that dolt Mirumo! Do you have any clue what's taking that rascal so long to get here!?"

The pink fairy hobbled around to look at a rather irate Yashichi, whose red attire contrasted heavily against the calming blue of the night. Really, it was no surprise that he was complaining. Yashichi tended to be impatient, especially when it came to settling one of his many, many scores with Mirumo. His restlessness likely couldn't be helped. Even if he wasn't part of the Fairy Ninjas, being hasty was probably in his blood.

"Yashichi-san, you need to give Mirumo-sama some more time. Mirumo-sama had only told us to come to the park barely an hour and twenty minutes ago," Rirumu said.

Yashichi raised an eyebrow. "You actually bothered to keep track?"

Rirumu simply nodded her head in response, letting her mind lead back to her lovely Mirumo-sama again. Despite being as devoted as she was to him, even she'd questioned herself as to what could possibly lead the usually carefree fairy to call everyone up on his Fairy Mobile for such an urgent meeting. To begin with, this was the first time they have ever organized such a secret meeting between them. Mirumo had repeatedly emphasized that it was a top-secret meetup that was to be solely between them, and thus they would have to sneak away from their human partners. Thankfully, this was relatively easy for most of the invited recipients to do, namely due to the late timing that had been set. Most of them simply had to wait for their human partners to fall asleep and then subsequently find a way to quietly escape to the park…

…and wait. Because as it turned out, Mirumo was ironically late to the very meeting that he himself had called up. An hour ago, at eleven o' clock, he'd given the instructions for everyone to meet by the park fountain at around midnight sharp. But now, it was approximately twenty minutes past that. The rest of them, having reached promptly, were bored out of their minds waiting for Mirumo, to the point where they had started to discuss their escape methods with each other.

For Rirumu, she simply had to wait for her partner Setsu to sleep. Unlike the norm, he had gone to bed extremely early tonight, mentioning something about an important event he had to do tomorrow. Her taking off was easy after the avid bookworm was sound asleep.

Rather astonishing, Murumo had managed to sneak away really easily, after taking into consideration that his partner's mansion was basically a fortress. All of the security measures were apparently too focused on the front gates as that was where all of Matsutake-san's obsessive fangirls tended to crowd around. Unbelievably, the Matsutake household barely had any security around the windows, so all he had to do was simply fly away from one. It'd certainly helped that no security camera was able to actually catch the fairy on film. Given Kaoru's personality, even on the off chance that he happened to be awake, the unobservant boy would remain ignorant of Murumo's disappearance for quite some time.

Not wanting to be one-upped by Murumo, Papii stepped forward to relay her tale of how she'd used her pink bunny-shaped cap—of all things—to bring up the conversation of rabbits to her partner, Sumita Koichi. Once the conversation bait was set, she abruptly wished one into existence, dropping it into her flustered partner's lap before hastily flying away while he was preoccupied in managing the random bunny that had just materialized. As Papii had put it, he would be too busy trying to catch and handle a bunny that literally popped out of nowhere to notice her disappearance.

Her story had actually been believed by the group until Murumo suddenly chuckled, folding his arms with a vicious smirk on his face. He snapped his fingers with a chuckle, sneakily pointing out that her partner was already doing rabbit duty with Kaede at his homeroom in school and therefore should already know how to handle rabbits after the hassle that was Mimi-pyon. After Murumo'd finished his comeback, a short silence descended upon the group, during which Papii could feel several deadpan looks focused on her. She ended up turning crimson as a result of having her exaggerated lie called out, quietly admitting with a huff that her getaway had actually pretty much gone the same way Rirumu's had.

Rirumu smiled to herself at Papii's attempt to recover upon being exposed by Murumo, considering how blatantly obvious it was to her that this was yet another one of her attempts to compete with him. "One day," she thought, as she glanced at the embarrassed fairy, "she will put aside her competitive streak with Murumo-sama and confess her personal feelings to him. That'll be so sweet!" she gushed inwardly as she twirled her body around.

Afterwards, Yashichi curtly mentioned his so-called brilliant plan: he had deliberately made Azumi angry enough to flush him down the toilet once again. Knowing that she would be too furious to care about his whereabouts after that, he'd basically crawled through the sewage to get to the meeting point. After everyone else ended up hooting at his misfortune, he threatened to throw a very sharp ninja shuriken at anyone who remotely dared to relay this tale to Mirumo.

However, it was agreed on that Panta had what was probably the coolest escape from his partner, Morishita-san. Since the black and white fairy was already a ghost, he simply phased through Haruka's room and hovered to the park from her house. Despite that clean and simplistic getaway, Panta confided with an upset frown that he felt bad about escaping like this. The well-behaved Panta couldn't help but feel guilt welling up from within him, feeling like he was betraying his Haruka-oneechan's trust by being naughty and keeping secrets from her. One of the others then casually responded something about this sort of rebellious behavior being part of growing up, before another pointed out that Panta was already a ghost.

After an awkward silence, they'd all hurriedly dropped the topic after that.

And so the banter and conversations carried on, unseen and unheard by anyone besides the group of five fairies.

* * *

Flying was a very simple skill for fairies. Due to their small size, they can easily soar into the skies simply from the recoil of their fans alone. Once in the air, he or she simply had to hold on to the two fans and proceed to rhythmically flap their arms in order to maintain the lift that was required for flight. To the lightweight fairies, this usually took minimal effort on their part, not requiring much energy on their part at all.

However, the act of flying became much harder if the fairy in question was carrying a heavy load. Much like Mirumo right now, currently lugging a huge bag of treats along with him, hoisted over his back. He _so_ blamed his father for this. At the rate that he was flying, he was going to be late, very late indeed. The treats bag that he was carrying with him was slowing his flight down drastically. This would have been so much easier if he was able to arrive at the park early and surprise them by wishing up a feast on the spot.

But alas, fairy magic was unfortunately unable to materialize food from scratch. If it was possible, Mirumo's first spell would have probably been to wish for a palace made of solid chocolate. Or better yet, a chocolate factory that would make him all the mouth-watering chocolate and Kumocchos that he could possibly eat in his entire lifetime.

The reason for this one lapse in their magic power was actually quite deliberate. Treats were the Achilles heel of Muglox Fairies. Every fairy was born with a sweet tooth and a craving for a certain treat. The knowledge of exactly what food a fairy craves basically gives one influence over them if they have enough quantity of said food with them. For instance, Kaede had borderline blackmailed him several times with chocolate. If any fairy actually had the power to create treats infinitely, they would effectively rule the entire Fairy World. Not a pleasant thought.

Feeling giddy from exhaustion, Mirumo landed on the top of a street lamp to catch his breath and think more about the current situation at hand. For starters, the load that he was carrying was beginning to take a toll on his strength. Honestly, did he really need that many treats? He shook his head before he could finish that thought. Frankly, his gut instinct told him that the answer to that question was most likely yes. He would definitely need a lot of sweet treats for what he was about to tell everyone. If the others weren't in a good mood and willing to carefully listen to what he had to say, things might turn ugly really quickly.

The main problem, of course, was him completing his Human World assignment. All of the fairies that he had summoned to this meeting had followed him to the Human World and ended up getting themselves partnered to humans of their own because of him.

It'd all started with Rirumu, which wasn't really too surprising in hindsight. That girl would pursue him to the ends of the earth to try to marry him. His rival Yashichi had then mysteriously appeared shortly thereafter, butting into his life to try to get the better of him once again. The only exception was Papii, who had ended up here chasing after Murumo instead of him, but that was close enough since Murumo had come here to be with his brother in the first place. Even Panta had returned back from a brief stint at the Fairy Heaven to be with his "Mirumo-niichan", as the fairy ghost had put it. After such a diverse array of fairies had all come to the Human World just for his sake, how can Mirumo possibly break the news to all of them that he was quite literally being forced to go back to the Fairy World and never come back?

As he ascended from the street lamp to resume his flight, Mirumo realized that he was out of options. When it all came together, he basically had only one choice. "I need to tell them the truth," he said to himself, his voice ringing out significantly louder in the darkness than he had expected. He swore that his own words had echoed back at him with the tone feeling like a taunting leer, reverberating around the surroundings solely to mock him.

Despite being the crown prince of the Muglox World, even Mirumo had no idea that all ties between partners were to be cut off after training was concluded. Since that was the case, it was a no-brainer to assume that the rest of his friends here and back home at the Fairy School would most certainly not know about this hidden catch as well.

Why should they? To begin with, there were not many fairies out there that were truly attached to humans at all. The Human World was but a mere fascination to most fairies. At the most, they only used their mugs to visit the human world with the intention of taking a vacation, sightseeing with their friends on occasion. Humans were just a simple curiosity to them, basically the latest gossip and trend. Only the most dedicated of fairies would agree to willingly undergo the attachment training and partner themselves with a human to grant their wishes.

"Grant their wishes," Mirumo fumed, "Yeah, grant their wishes and their partner's true heart's desires. Only after that, to have their fairies forcibly taken away from their partners, never to return here and fated to be separated forever!"

What irritated Mirumo the most about this was that the higher-ups had most certainly and deliberately withheld this fact from general public knowledge. And it appeared to be for a good reason, since if his father's legitimate outburst revealed that said regulation had come from the Gaia Tribe themselves. As soon as his father mentioned the group, all of this secrecy finally made sense to him. No sane fairy would ever dare cross the Gaia Tribe — the literal gods of the Fairy World.

Now the question was, who else besides his father knew? If Mirumo were to wager a guess, he'd say that Enma-sensei from the Fairy School probably had an idea as to what was going on, being the headmaster and chief for the exchange program back when he and Marumo had offered to open a Fairy School branch in the Human World. Mirumo clenched his fists in frustration. Gah, he'd already despised it when Enma-sensei kept on harping on his training scores, and now knowing that the pun-making teacher was likely to be involved in this whole thing was absolutely infuriating to him.

He also decided that he wouldn't be surprised if Mimomo knew about this too. That crafty shopkeeper knew _everything_ as long as it would benefit her shop's business. Seriously, that pink rascal had an answer to just about every dilemma and problem that they had ever encountered. She had provided Kaede's former mug and gave her the first hint to the Gaia Tribe's Mic instrument, and that wasn't even mentioning that she'd managed to sell all sorts of useful spells and widgets to just about every fairy under the sun. Mirumo glowered as he recalled Mimomo's antics when making a sales pitch. She and her assistant Kumomo were most definitely being kept in the loop about this.

Also, the fairies who had previously undertook and passed out of the training program would obviously know of the regulation as well for obvious reasons, although they'd only find out when it was far too late for them. But as Mirumo deduced, they didn't tell anyone afterwards. Why was that, he pondered. Was it out of fear of angering the Gaia Tribe? And what if said fairy happened to be as close to their human partner as Mirumo was to Kaede? Perhaps they might just keep their mouths sealed shut at the pure resentment of losing their partner, instead of warning others around them of the terrible and inevitable conclusion to their Human World Training. Or maybe it was the simple solution, with the Royal Family simply swearing them all to secrecy. It would be simple, really. Upon their graduation, the hapless fairy would be forced to meet with both of his parents, and swear an oath to never speak of the hidden clause. And they would most certainly agree with those terms, as no one would risk facing the wrath of Queen Saria's lightning powers.

Mirumo involuntarily shuddered at the sheer thought of his mother's electrifying ability. He had seen in it action far too many times after being aimed at his father after some idiotic thing he had mentioned to his wife.

In any case, the fact that fairies could never again return to their partners in the Human World had certainly been a well-kept secret, one that most fairies in the Muglox World would be kept in the dark about.

Effectively a conspiracy…

Mirumo grimaced at that disturbing thought mid-flight. Oh, he definitely hated this. Well then, it was just too bad for the ringleaders that he wasn't like most other fairies. So what if this really was some cover-up by the royal family? He was the prince, for goodness' sake! He could do what he wanted, regulations be darned!

That said, even he wasn't reckless enough to go against the Gaia Tribe. Only a true fool would defy them. It was practically suicide to challenge the Gods of the fairies. He had seen them in action before, and despite their initial appearances, the five had all lived up to their reputations. If the Gaia Tribe wanted Mirumo to cut his ties with Kaede and the Human World, then he would just suck up to their wishes and reluctantly oblige.

Still, just because he was resigned to the fact that he had to leave Kaede behind didn't mean that he was about to go quietly. Mirumo's eyes narrowed, a smirk beginning to form. He had already made up his mind that he wasn't going to be like the rest of the silenced fairies. In contrast, he was going to kick up a huge fuss before he left with a bang. At the very least, he was going to warn his friends by telling them all about the reason that he was being forced to return in very explicit detail.

If there was one silver lining from this, it was that he was the first of the group to suffer this ridiculous ruling. With this knowledge spread out to the others, they'd have the advantage of being aware of the situation by having an advance warning about the regulations. At least this way, they won't have the topic brought up to them so suddenly out of the blue, like how it had happened with him and Kaede. At least, that was the official reason that he was going to meet with all of them. Unofficially, if Mirumo were to touch his heart and be perfectly honest with himself, he just needed to vent out his frustrations to his close companions after the chaos that had befallen him.

Finally, Mirumo saw the park within his line of sight. He audibly groaned when he caught sight of five fairies excitedly chattering with each other in the distance ahead of him. He snorted as the reality hit him. Like he'd predicted, he was indeed the last one to arrive. The trip had taken a lot longer than he had anticipated. He had given himself an hour to reach the park from Kaede's home after getting the snacks. A quick glance to his watch indicated the current time as a half hour past midnight. Thirty minutes behind schedule. And not a moment too soon, since Mirumo could infer from observing the other fairies from his aerial view that they didn't exactly look like they were in the best of moods to be receptive to his late entrance. Once again, Mirumo cursed under his breath, blaming his incompetent father for indirectly causing his tardiness.

Taking a look all around, Mirumo observed that Yashichi was tapping his foot impatiently. That jerk. His younger brother Murumo and Papii were glaring daggers at each other, both looking like they were about to clobber the other, which was a given inevitability for the duo given enough time. He shook his head at the sight. Now it seemed like he had to resolve the matters with an already-agitated group of fairies.

But to be fair, this was what the bag of treats he had brought along was for. As Mirumo flew into the park vicinity, he kept his face neutral. The five fairies remained huddled in a group below him as he slowly made his approach towards them. He might be thirty minutes late, but punctuality didn't really matter in this case. What mattered in the end was the topic that he intended to get across to everyone before the meeting was concluded.

It was time for the fateful conversation to begin.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 26/5/2018._

" _I'm going to be honest. I think Mirumo de Pon's series finale is an anime-only plotline since I heard it's pretty different from the manga. If so, this explains why it is extremely vague on whether Mirumo and co. are aware that they are unable to return to the Human World after granting their human partner's wish. They seem to be aware of the fact that they must return to the Muglox World, but Mirumo himself is stunned when his father tells him that he can't return to the Human World thereafter, so maybe they only know part of it._

 _The very idea itself leads to many plot holes, many of which I'm pretty sure I will allude to later. Yet, the concept of this is something that I feel has wasted potential. The Fairly Oddparents (formerly a great show that has sadly fallen from grace, hard) has a similar gimmick with the godchild losing all memories of their fairy godparents as they grow up._

 _So, in this fic, I've decided to make it so that none of the fairies are aware that that they are unable to return to the Human World after granting their partner's wish, as opposed to it being common knowledge."_

The above three paragraphs were from my original Author's Note. When I originally wrote this chapter one year ago, I'd previously pondered on whether the anime finale was an anime-only arc. Since I've did more research since then, the answer is indeed yes since the manga overtook the anime really quickly and the anime didn't adapt quite a few of the plotlines from the original.

It's still a pretty good finale even if I still maintain the opinion that it was rather rushed as a 3-parter.


	3. Listen to Me!

**Chapter 3: Listen to Me!**

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

"Peh…" Murumo grumbled to himself, glaring at the second hand on his watch as it slowly ticked on, "It'll be dawn by the time onii-sama gets here and finally finish off this stupid meeting. Why did I ever agree to this?" Here it was, half past midnight, and his older brother Mirumo was still conspicuously absent. So much for a good night's sleep, indeed! "Hmph! I should have had the foresight to bet some candy with the others on whether onii-sama would have been late for this." He glowered at the lost opportunity, "If I had, I would have made a fortune in marshmallows!"

Murumo gazed up at the empty sky, mumbling in a dazed tone, "Maybe I should bet on whether onii-sama would end up being a no-show and not even turn up instead…" He had made up his mind that he wouldn't be surprised if his brother didn't show up at all. That chocolate-loving, lazy slouch of a fairy had his priorities jumbled up sometimes! To think that one day when his otou-sama stepped down, Mirumo-oniisama would be the one in charge of the Fairy World. Murumo couldn't visualize the entire Muglox World under the command of the very same fairy who had fled from the Royal Palace just to get away from an engagement with Rirumu-san. That selfish jerk had vanished without thinking about what the rest of his friends and family would feel…

…without even thinking about how his own brother would feel. His very own brother! How could he? Murumo stomped his feet on the ground at his brother's selfishness. "Hmph!" he folded his arms with a sneer, "If I were the one in charge, I'd run things differently! Do you hear me!?"

"Hah! You, Murumo? What a joke! You couldn't lead a group of clowns! Whatever end up in charge of would only wind up a total disaster!"

Murumo yelped, jumping into the air from the sudden intrusion into his rambling. He hadn't meant to say that last sentence out loud enough for someone to hear! His eyes widened as he recovered from his shock. Of course the one who had overheard him just happened to be Papii. Gah, that girl will be the death of him! What did she want now?

If he were to be honest, Murumo probably had an idea as to why she'd come to antagonize him. It was most probably her payback for the rabbit escape story that he'd debunked just a few minutes ago. Oh well, it wasn't his fault. Papii really should have come up with a more believable tale. He simply couldn't resist tearing her story apart in front of all the others the moment he spotted the flaws in it. Besides, the look on her face when he disproved her story was absolutely priceless, all too worth it!

Papii raised an eyebrow when she saw Murumo smiling uncontrollably as he was reminiscing about what had happened earlier. "Oi, Murumo! Just what's so funny? Why are you smirking like that? Have you finally lost it?"

Murumo yelped at her retort. _Hold it, I was smirking? I need to learn to control my emotions with her… she can really read me like an open book!_ He let his smile drop, before letting out a tired sigh. Honestly, he was in no mood to fight with her yet again. They could battle it out in the morning after he was more awake… actually, scratch that. It was Papii that he was talking about. Murumo simply could not resist a chance to provoke her. Adjusting his bowtie from his fall, he responded in the most bored tone he could conjure up, "It's nothing, really. But why don't you think I'll be a good leader, Papii?"

Papii then proceeded to fold her arms, making Murumo flinch ever so slightly. Nothing good ever happened whenever she refused to let go of a squabble and took him head-on. "You're asking me why I don't think you'll be a good leader?" she began, "Why don't you ask yourself that, Murumo! All you ever do is trick others into doing what you want with your charming appearance!" Papii flicked bangs of her hair away from her face as she barreled on, "You appear to be under the impression that just making cute looks to everyone will make them listen to you and solve all your problems! Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't, you doofus!"

Murumo whirled himself around at her retort, breathing heavily as he glared at the park fountain instead of Papii. He had to calm down and avoid looking at her face or else he'd end up saying something he would regret later. Stupid, stupid, stupid… gah, why did it have to be this again! Why did Papii always have to insult him about the cute looks! He wouldn't sacrifice his cute charm for anything. His natural ability to charm others had come in handy for him more often than he could count. When people weren't angry at him or an evil maniac, charming them had a modestly high success rate. Just act cute and the unsuspecting fools would listen to whatever he said and proceed to pamper him with delicious marshmallows. What better proof of concept was there than his very human partner, Matsutake-san? Ever since he became Kaoru's partner, he got easy scrumptious marshmallows just by acting his usual adorable self. It certainly helped that the Matsutake household was so unbelievably influential and rich.

Almost no one was immune from what he personally dubbed the "Murumo Charm". The only two who absolutely couldn't be manipulated by his looks 100% of the time were Mirumo-oniisama and Papii.

Papii…

He clenched his fists as he looked up to the moon. It had all started the day they met. The day that they'd met for the very first time was during his orientation at the Fairy School. Murumo could distinctly recall that he had charmed every single one of his classmates and almost every teacher in the entire institute.

But that was before she'd come and ruined everything…

* * *

Bowing his head slightly, Murumo concluded his introductory speech, "It's so nice to meet all of you! I'm so glad to be your classmates!" As he looked up, he was met with resounding cheers and applause from his new classmates.

"Awwww!"

"You're so cute~"

"I really like your hat!"

The seven-year-old continued to keep his delighted smile up as he strutted back to his seat. Murumo had paid special attention to his attire today since it was a very special day for him — his very first day at school. First impressions count, after all!

It was a very delicate procedure. To begin with, his red bowtie had to be tilted at a very slight angle to give him a dopey, yet adorable appearance. The antennas on his hat were arranged so that they were facing away from each other, tilting to the ground at a downwards angle. This gave off the impression that they were drooping like an insect's feelers, which once again made him appear irresistibly cute. Finally, with all that preparation, all he had just had to do was to use his naturally alluring voice and squint his eyes to fake crocodile tears at critical moments of his speech.

Lights, camera, action! Murumo had stolen the show, just as he planned. No surprise there, of course! It was a piece of cake! All of these factors combined made the Muglox look like the most endearing fairy within the entire school compound.

After he was seated, his teacher then walked up to the blackboard and began to speak. "Alright, class! Listen up! First and foremost, welcome to the Fairy School! Thank you all for introducing yourself. You will be together with your classmates for the next few years of your life. As students, you will learn many subjects, be it languages, art, food studies, and most importantly, the various forms of magic. You are currently at novice level, but you will advance further and further as you study. If you're _really_ good, you might even be nominated to be a partnered with a real-life human…"

Murumo yawned into his hand, struggling to keep his eyes open. The orientation speech was very close to what he expected, especially since he already had a rough idea of what his teacher was going to say. It was to his advantage that as a member of the Royal Family, he had some experience with casting magic. He smiled to himself dreamily, head propped in his hand as he visualized the scenario. He could imagine it already: Murumo-chan, the cute younger brother of Prince Mirumo, who just so happened to also be the most proficient magic user in his class! Murumo felt his smile growing wider at the self-given title. Despite the exaggerated nature of it, he knew that it would soon be his reality. He would be the most popular fairy in all of first grade. School would certainly be much less of a bore with him calling the shots!

"…so that is what you can look forward to! As you are already aware, according to Enma-sensei new first-grade students are required to be partnered in pairs for practical magic classes. So class, please do look for a partner now."

And so it began! Murumo chuckled to himself in glee. He was going to enjoy witnessing everyone fighting for him. True indeed, many of his classmates had already started to crowd around him.

"Um, hello," one of them meekly began, "May I please be partners with-oof!" She was cut off as another fairy knocked her aside.

"Murumo-kun, may we be class p—"

"Hey, I asked him first!"

"No, I did!"

"You did not!"

"Oi, don't forget about me!"

"Shut up!"

"No, you be quiet!"

"I'm the one that deserves to be Murumo-kun's partner!"

Murumo groaned, shaking his head as over ten different fairies began to bicker about which one of them was deserving of sitting beside him. Gah, this was starting to get a bit ridiculous! _Time for me to manage this situation_ , he thought. He raised an arm to maintain civility, standing up to speak to the crowd around him. "Thank you, thank you!" he waved. "I appreciate all of you! But please, I can't handle all your requests at once! Please, one at a time, line up in single file so that y'all can tell me more about yourself and what you can do for me!"

Ah, such was life. His squabbling classmates really thought that the order they asked him in or whatever arbitrary reasons they gave him would make them earn the honor of being his chosen seat partner for the rest of their elementary school lives. It was honestly too bad for them if their thought process was like that. The truth of the matter was that Murumo was going to give the role of fairy class partner to whoever he decided he would benefit from the most, namely the one with the most lunch money to be able to treat him to marshmallows.

 _Delicious, delicious marshmallows! And hey… wait a minute!_ Murumo suddenly realised with mild surprise that not the whole class was crowded around his table asking to be his partner. _Why, those little… who doesn't want to be my partner?!_ He looked around at the few who were still by their seats and not surrounding him. _Hm, the green and purple ones with bandanas are Yashichi-san's lackeys or something, right? Okay, so it isn't that surprising that they'll pair up. Uh, Sasuke-san and… Hanzo-san, was it?_ Murumo honestly couldn't remember who they were. When the other classmates were giving their introductions, he was preoccupied due to rehearsing his own speech in his head, and thus wasn't able to really pay attention to their names.

But Sasuke and Hanzo weren't the only ones who were ignoring him. At the far end of the class, there was another lone fairy sitting by her table. She was dressed in pink and had a hat with floppy bunny ears. Even Murumo had to admit that her getup was kind of cute.

However, once she saw him looking at her, the fairy simply rolled her eyes and turned away.

 _What! How dare she!_ The idea of someone not listening to what he wanted was already unbelievable enough to Murumo, but for her to actively try to anger him? Well, he certainly wasn't just going to take that! Murumo pushed his chair aside, jolting away from his table. He pushed through the localized crowd and stormed over to the fairy's table, shouting as he did so. "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?"

Seeing Murumo standing by her side, the girl fairy just huffed, "Oh, it's you. Why are you here, huh?" When Murumo kept silent, she continued on with a tiny grin, "What, did you think I will be partners with you just because you acted adorably in front of all of us? Dream on, Murumo-kun! The rest of the class might have fallen for it, but I won't!"

 _What!_ Murumo's eyes widened. _Did she really figure out his plan? There was no way, no way!_ He kept himself as calm as possible before replying to her accusation. "Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean? It's not anything like that!" Murumo denied.

She folded her eyes, wrinkling her nose in amusement. "Hmm, really? Then Murumo-kun, do you even remember my name?" she interrogated.

"Eh?" Murumo blinked in response. _Her name? Oh crud! Um…what was it? It started with a P, right? Pekka? Popper? Papper?_ He began to sweat as his mind drew a blank.

Looking at Murumo's clueless face, the girl smirked and started counting down five seconds using her fingers. When the time ran out, she then gave the stuttering fairy a harsh retort, "Haa! You don't remember, do you? Do you!?" She gave a disapproving snort at her victim as Murumo grimaced from her taunt.

"Just shut up!" Murumo kicked her table while shooting the girl a glare. "Give me time! I'm trying to remember!"

"Too late! Your time's up! The name's Papii, ya moron!" she practically shouted in Murumo's ear. Satisfied that she had cornered him, Papii then raised her voice even louder so that the entire class could hear the rest of her speech. "You weren't paying attention to any of our introductions, were you? Real mature, eh? You thought you could just walk in here and expect everyone to be smitten with you?" She rolled her eyes, folding her arms with a haughty snort. "Yeah, right!"

Murumo stared at Papii, his jaw falling slack with shock. Oh, that was it! He didn't even care if the rest of the class knew that he was trying to manipulate them. Right now, he was going to win this war of words with this fairy, no matter what. He glowered at Papii, his annoyance now very clear on his agitated face. "OK, fine! You're right, I _was_ using them! I bet you think you're so smart right now, huh? Well, aren't you? It's probably some wisdom thing that you got early. I bet you that it's because of your grey hair! They say that old people can be able to tell…"

It was only at the very end that Murumo felt himself trailing off upon noticing that Papii's face had turned absolutely livid. His face paled slightly. Alright, to be perfectly fair, he might have gone a little too far by insulting Papii's grayish hair and using it as a comparison for her age.

Papii continued to stare at Murumo, who had remained frozen after his words suddenly ground to a halt. After a few tense seconds, Papii growled, standing up from her chair. "Murumo!" she yelled, proceeding to bring her handbell bracelet out and aim it directly at him.

He gulped, backing away slightly from the trembling Papii. Wait, wait, wait! Using magic without explicit permission was against the Fairy School rules! He wasn't about to get in trouble on the first day of school just because of some reckless, sassy fairy!

"Papii de Pon!" Papii shrieked as she brought down her arm, along with the instrument. Murumo yelped when she yelled the attack, dodging ungracefully to the side so as to avoid her strike. "Tch!" he spat as he looked right at Papii twirling around her handbell in a carefree manner. "Why you little…" he began. _That girl dared to attack him in front of the others? Well then, forget the school rules!_

Before anyone could stop him, Murumo summoned his own instrument, hitting his snare drum with his drumsticks as hard as he possibly could. "Murumo de Pon!" he yelled in return, sending back an attack her way with a snarl.

After that, the entire classroom turned into absolute chaos.

* * *

The destruction and subsequent fallout caused by their battle was so bad that the aftermath was etched into the memory of every single one of their classmates. The two of them had gotten into humongous trouble for that incident. It was to the extent where his father had to come down from the castle to unceremoniously pick Murumo up from school in person from one very disgruntled Enma-sensei. He cringed as he recalled that memory. It had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Seeing most of his classmates laughing at his expense after he was led out of the class by the father's hand was a memory that he genuinely wished he could push into a dark void and eradicate for all eternity. It was pure irony — Murumo had gotten all the attention that he so desperately craved from his class in the one instance where he didn't want to be the center of attention and would rather stay in the shadows.

The humiliation didn't stop there, however. If only it did, since it turned out that the consequences of battling with Papii after the argument had gone out of control was far more far-reaching than he'd ever anticipated, and that was after he willingly brought out his drums of his own accord. After a harsh talking-to from Enma-sensei, Murumo realized that he had to keep this under wraps to avoid further embarrassment. It was to the point when he tearfully begged his parents to punish him quietly on their end and not let Mirumo know about what had happened, or else his onii-sama would've never let him hear the end of it. It had worked too — Mirumo never found out much about Papii until very recently, his brother under the impression that she was just another one of his regular classmates, when she was anything but.

Regardless, with a single unintended but well-timed move, she had single-handedly ruined his brilliant plan of coaxing the whole class, since a good portion of his classmates had heard his admission that he was indeed trying to use them. For starters, Sasuke and Hanzo had never really fallen for his charm easily after that day. The entire class had also come to the realization that the young prince had a somewhat manipulative side to his cute demeanor by the time he was marched back to class. He could still play nice to try and gain favors, but the moment Papii got involved by trying to call him out on it, he would be forced to drop the act really quickly for the sole purpose of trying to spite her.

And to top it all off, the icing on the cake was that all of them positively _loved_ to make fun of Papii and him. Since Murumo had walked over to her table during the pair selection process before their little scuffle, they'd made some ridiculously wild assumptions about the two of them, the primary misconception being that he had approached Papii in order to select her to be his class partner and that the fight that'd ensured was simply a rejection on her end. The worst part was that it didn't matter whether that rumor had a shred of truth in it or not since their teacher had paired them up together when they'd both returned to school due to the fact that everyone else had already been paired up by then.

But man, did the teasing continued. When he found out whoever started that stupid rumor that the two of them were interested in each other—he personally suspected it to be Daichi—he was going to personally torture them. Yes, Murumo thought devilishly, he would subject them to the ultimate torture by tying them up and then placing them just slightly out of reach of their favorite snacks until they admitted to his face that they were sorry at least a hundred times. And then he would tape down that apology and have it air on the school intercom system. Now _that_ would be the ultimate deterrence to the next fairy who dared to even suggest that the two of them had a thing for each other.

It was a shame as well, because Murumo was forced to admit that there was some truth in that outlandish rumor. He found that he had a love-hate relationship with Papii. She was arguably his greatest opponent, and in a sense, his greatest test, since she was never fooled by his looks and knew how to rile him up every single time. And yet when the two of them were actually kind to each other, which was once in a blue moon, Murumo found that he was able to get along reasonably well with Papii. On occasion she could be really adorably bashful when they had conversations, to the point where she was sometimes reduced to a stumbling mess… at least until they inevitably made each other mad again.

Out of the two personalities, Murumo preferred shy Papii over angry Papii any day of the week. More than once, he was tempted to just give her a chance and let their grudge go. But alas, his pride would never allow for that, and neither would hers. The both of them have collectively refused to let go of that argument from long ago. It appeared that he and Papii were fated to fight until the very end of time, or at least until she admitted that she could be charmed by his looks, which was about as likely as him imposing a self-curfew on eating marshmallows — in other words, nigh impossible. The alternative of him conceding to her was also an absolute no-no for Murumo. If he chose to admit defeat now, Papii would hold it over his head for all eternity.

Murumo frowned as he thought about the whole thing carefully with a clear mind. In retrospect, his grudge with Papii was a rather petty one. But then again, so were onii-sama's and Yashichi's grudges against each other. He couldn't even remember how and why _those two_ had even started their rivalry.

"Speaking of Yashichi-san," Murumo mumbled to himself, blatantly ignoring Papii's question, to the short-tempered fairy's agitation, "Was that not Yashichi-san's voice just now?"

Papii was about to shoot back a retort at Murumo trying to redirect the topic when Yashichi's voice rang out across the clearing one more time, allowing Murumo to realize that his ears weren't playing tricks on him. "Mirumo! Where the heck were you?! You are so very late! You owe me one, you stupid fairy! What do you even want, calling us at this godforsaken hour!?"

He felt a smile creeping on his lips. His brother had come through after all! Although Murumo had multiple questions swarming in his mind, two main thoughts took precedence. The first was, "At least now I can put could my argument with Papii on hold!" and the second, "Thank my lucky stars I didn't go through with betting on onii-sama's arrival time."

* * *

 _Marshmallows! Marshmallows everywhere!_ Onii-sama did know how to make him delighted sometimes! Oh yes, yes, yes! That goofball was so forgiven for being over thirty minutes late!

Deep down, Murumo had to admit that he cared for his brother. It's just that Mirumo-oniisama chose to act like a moron a good ninety percent of the time. But on occasion, there was that rare chance that he would act like the sane, smart prince he is supposed to be, and people who knew him well loved Mirumo when he had his brain in order instead of fooling around. But then again, he entered today's meeting by bashing Yashichi with his butt attack from the sky. Murumo snorted. Yeah, that was the less-than-smart 90% in action there.

"Eat up, everyone! It's my apology for being late!" Mirumo scratched his head with an apologetic smile. He was being unbelievably generous by his normal standards, even bringing Yashichi's favorite treat for him. Now _that_ had to be a first. As Murumo chewed on his soft marshmallow, Mirumo continued on, "Now, I know what you all are thinking—"

Yashichi took this chance to interrupt him, "You do? Then start with the obvious! Why were you late, Mirumo?"

"Not that, Yashichi! Listen to me!" Mirumo took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. At that, Murumo suddenly felt as though something was off. Yashichi and Mirumo were rivals, almost as much as he and Papii. Whenever Mirumo and Yashichi spoke, his brother usually had no restraints with his personality, and almost never tried to be this calm. Murumo began to have a feeling in his gut that something was wrong.

"As I was saying, you all probably want to know why I called you here, correct?" He chuckled with mirth at Yashichi before tilting his head towards another fairy. "Oi, Rirumu."

Hearing her name, Rirumu chirped up. "Yes, Mirumo-sama?" she acknowledged.

Murumo stared at the exchange. Okay, now things were getting weird. His onii-sama usually never tried to actively get Rirumu's attention unless it was necessary.

"Did Yuuki tell you anything about what he was going to do tomorrow?"

Rirumu smiled. "Yes, he did! Yuuki-sama told me something about a very important event that he had to do at noon the next day!"

Mirumo then turned back to face the rest of the group before flashing a wide smile. "Well then, it seems my suspicions are correct!" he said, eyes twinkling. Stepping forward towards the others with his hands wide open, he announced with an authoritative tone, "Alright, you heard it here first! I've come to announce that my mug is glowing. You know what that means, don't ya?" he asked the other bewildered fairies. "It means that Kaede's wish has finally been granted! I bet you that Yuuki-kun will confess to her at noon!"

Hearing Mirumo's proclamation, the whole group stared at him, stunned, before slowly bursting out into thunderous cheers. Even Murumo couldn't help but to look at his brother in awe. Mirumo-oniisama had actually managed to grant Kaede's wish? It was exceptionally rare for a fairy to actually fulfil their human partner's wish, and unbelievably, his onii-sama has actually done it!

Who would have thought? Yuuki-san actually liked Kaede-san back. Murumo couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when he saw Mirumo's jaunty smile. In a rather ironic fashion, his own human partner had also wished to get Minami Kaede's attention. Since he was Kaoru's fairy partner, Murumo had still tried to help him to win Kaede's love to the best of his ability, in spite of the fact that the chances of Kaede-san returning his feelings got exponentially closer to zero with every subsequent attempt he tried. Alas, now it appeared as though that wish might never be granted after all. "Literally zero probability. Poor Matsutake-san," Murumo snickered to himself, before heaving a tired sigh as he glanced at his content brother. Since Mirumo had succeeded in granting Kaede's wish, it indirectly meant that the love wish of his own partner—and by extension Papii's partner—would not come true.

Despite everything, his onii-sama would always be better than him…

Amidst all the cheering and applause, Rirumu walked over to Mirumo to hug him, much to the blue fairy's surprise. "That's so great, Mirumo-sama! I knew Kaede-sama and Yuuki-sama would get together!" The whole time Rirumu was talking, Murumo couldn't help but notice his brother trying to squirm free. He shook his head in amusement. Heh, looks like you can't escape forever, onii-sama! _Of course you'll be glad, Rirumu-san, it was why you had become Yuuki-san's partner in the first place!_ Now all that was left for her to do is to trap her fiancé and drag his onii-sama screaming back to the Fairy World for their engagement. He was going to enjoy taking photos of their wedding, oh yes he would! Not only for the obvious memories and joy, but also to tease Mirumo-oniisama with those damning images as well.

Mirumo managed to escape Rirumu's grasp after much difficulty, spluttering out his next words before she could grab ahold of him again. "Hey! I'm not done yet, Rirumu!" After she backed away to give him space, Mirumo brushed his attire to smooth the creases made from his struggle. "All of you, pay very close attention to what I'm about to say…" He started to pace about the pavement with a nervous expression, looking around the park as though people were eavesdropping on them. Murumo felt that something seemed off about it. Why was onii-sama being so tense? What was there to be afraid of?

" _Murumo! This meeting is to be between us fairies only! Remember, you can't bring Matsutake along!"_ Well, his onii-sama did say something along those lines when he'd called the meeting agenda. The sinking feeling in his stomach from earlier was back in full force. He continued nibbling a marshmallow to push his dread aside.

Finally, Mirumo stopped strutting about and looked at the group again, his face turning deadpan. "And now that I'm done with granting Kaede's wish, I'm… returning back to the Muglox World."

Rirumu twiddled her fingers. "Mirumo-sama…" she began.

Mirumo lost his temper, practically shouting to maintain order. "Be quiet, Rirumu! Will you all please listen, stop interrupting my sentences, and let me finish!?" After all the commotion between the others died down, he looked down and finished his sentence with a dejected sigh, "I'm going back to the Fairy World forever. I'm not coming back to the Human World."

 _Wait, what did he just say_? Murumo almost thought that his ears were playing tricks on him, which prompted him to give a passing glance at his brother. He then had a double-take in horror when he realized that Mirumo was being serious. _No way… onii-sama can't leave me again! Not after all the trouble I went through to get him back!_ He could understand Mirumo-oniisama leaving for the Muglox World to a certain extent, but why wasn't he coming back to the Human World? That was going too far!

 _Why wasn't onii-sama staying? Why!?_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 2/6/2018._

I find that I really enjoy writing in Murumo's point of view, since this rewritten version is almost 2K words longer than the original. Anyway, the main changes and focus for this chapter was expanding on Murumo's thoughts and feelings.


	4. Tears in the Moonlight

**Chapter 4: Tears in the Moonlight**

"I'm going back to the Fairy World forever. I'm not coming back to the Human World."

Mirumo had said those words with a heavy heart. Truthfully, he sometimes found himself wondering if he had done something especially cruel in a past life for his current one to be so chaotic. _I've been a good fairy! I'm not like the Warumo Gang or Akumi, and even those troublemakers weren't truly evil. So whatever did I do to deserve all of this chaos being heaped upon me!?_

"Alright, calm down," he told himself, taking deep breaths in a bid to relax his tense self. "Relax, everything is under control." So far, that still held true. Everything had gone pretty much as the fairy had hoped. Beside, Mirumo was armed with a master ploy, rather originally dubbed the 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' plan.

Why all the precautions? Well, he had many good reasons. To begin with, Mirumo didn't want the meeting to end with Rirumu turning into a sobbing mess, or worse still, angering the emotionally violent fairy. He involuntarily shuddered as many, many memories of previous incidents went through his head. A furious Rirumu would bash him up so badly that he won't be able to feel his limbs for the next couple of weeks. Well aware of that possibility and having no wish to wind up in a cast and bandages, he had predicted how the meeting would go well in advance and drafted ideas accordingly, constructing what he would call "the most brilliant plan ever devised" before he had flown away from Kaede's house.

 _Step one, check_. Calling up everyone was really simple. It'd also helped that they were all late sleepers, so besides them being groggy, he had managed to rope everyone in with no trouble or repercussions. Yashichi had still yelled at him for interrupting his rest, but there was absolutely zero surprise there.

Step two of the plan was also complete. Once Mirumo had arrived, he had given his friends the treats he'd gathered to let them calm their agitated selves down. Getting the treats was actually the annoying part here. Normally the fairies would mooch off their human partners for snacks, but this time there was the side effect of well, not trying to draw attention to himself and stuff. Furthermore, he couldn't just ask them from Kaede. It was already hard enough to coax chocolate from her to begin with, but he had just wiped her short term memory anyway, so there was no point in starting up a conversation with her lest she suddenly remembered something she shouldn't.

His compromise to such a dilemma was hence stunningly simple. All he had to do was to sneak into other people's fridges and um… steal their snacks for himself. Yeah, Mirumo knew that what he'd done was wrong, but to be fair they wouldn't know if he'd just pilfered one or two snacks. He had probably gone through every single apartment in the building, taking at least one tasty treat from each of their occupants before leaving as quietly as he came. And by simply stockpiling and adding together all of his immediate neighbors' treats, Mirumo was slowly able to get the rest of the fairies what they wanted: their favorite snacks. Marshmallows for his brother, karintou for Yashichi, cream puffs for Rirumu, candy for Papii and red bean jelly for Panta.

"Stupid conscience bothering me about stealing those snacks," Mirumo grumbled to himself when a slight sense of guilt of taking stuff that he didn't own began to surface. "It was for the greater good, okay?" he yelled at his conscience, "Doing this is so the park wouldn't be wrecked from collateral damage!" After all, it was almost a certainty that the park would be destroyed with magic from the resulting misunderstandings if he didn't calm the group down with treats after arriving a good thirty minutes late.

"Besides, who would be meticulous enough to notice one or two missing treats? They won't notice anything, and even if they do, humans can't see us fairies anyway, so those neighbors will probably think a ghost or something did it."

In Western culture, when people mentioned the supernatural, their mind turned to ghosts, vampires, and the age-old jump scare trick used in multiple horror films and video games. On the contrary, Japanese culture lends credence to folk stories as well as legends, many of which involve spirits and superstitions. People in Japan tended to believe in the supernatural more so than in other parts of the world, and when things could not be explained in an easy and logical manner, they attribute it to the supernatural. The last thing Mirumo needed was for the haunted tenants of the apartment building cooking up a new youkai legend, wondering why their treats were stolen from the dead of night that particular day. Azumi's younger brother, the little rascal Mizuki, had caused the fairies enough trouble before because of said rumored legends. Since he was unable to see fairies but could see their actions, he accidentally mistook the Yashichi and the other Fairy Ninjas as ghosts and assumed that his sister's house was haunted… much to his delight. After all, the self-proclaimed great ghostbuster Hidaka Mizuki wanted to prove the existence of ghosts. But did the ghost hunting fanatic have to mess with the fairies' natural order of life in order to do such a thing? Mirumo sure didn't think so, and for once even Yashichi was forced to agree with him.

And on the topic of ghosts…

Damn it, darn it all! This was the reason why Panta, the fairy ghost, still scared him to some extent. To this very day, Mirumo was still terrified of ghosts. He hadn't really believed in them himself until the day he and the others had met Panta when he was haunting a classroom in Kaede's high school. In spite of his innate fear, Mirumo had befriended Panta and had become somewhat like a surrogate big brother to the kid.

And now, Mirumo was practically all but forced to tell Panta that he was leaving to his face. Oh, and while he was at it, he would have to break the news to Rirumu as well. There was no universe where _that_ would end well. Oh well, Mirumo lamented, that's was what Step Three of the plan was for, explaining the situation to the group. Too bad that as of now, that step was going very, very badly for him. He had just told them that he couldn't return back to the Human World, and everyone's reactions were, well… to say they weren't pleasant was the understatement of the century.

Yashichi shot him a glare that would have maimed him if looks could kill. Panta gasped, before shaking his head vehemently in a manner that implied that he refused to believe what he'd just heard. Papii gave him an incredulous look, while his younger brother Murumo stared at him, completely shell-shocked. Oh, and Rirumu was choking up, trying to hold back her tears. This was so not good. Mirumo kicked himself, mentally regretting that he had not considered making a backup plan to his 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' once in case it didn't work out. Because right now, the group looked like they had hit their breaking point, and sooner or later something was going to give way…

It happened sooner than Mirumo thought. Yashichi suddenly jumped up and down, yelling directly at his face. "You stupid idiot, Mirumo!" he spat. "Why? Why won't you return to the Human World?"

It was at this point that Mirumo regretted not making _multiple_ backup plans.

* * *

" _I'm not coming back to the Human World."_

Rirumu held back a choke at Mirumo's statement, trying hard not to sob in front of him. When had it gone so wrong? It had started out as such a beautiful night. After all, a full moon is said to bring good luck. It was so beautiful and pretty!

The mood had started strong. Mirumo had arrived late, but really surprisingly, treated everyone with all their favorite treats, inclusive of her. She could almost swear that he had blushed when he deftly handed the cream puffs to her. It was a very rare occasion when Mirumo actually decided to put aside his pride and did something for her that could be considered romantic if you looked at it from a certain angle.

But as of right now…

Yashichi butted in, shouting the question that every fairy at the park wanted to know. "You stupid idiot, Mirumo! Why? Why won't you return to the Human World?"

Despite what most people thought, Rirumu was not as foolish as many assumed. Sure, it was a fact that her magic skill was nowhere near other fairies, but what she lacked in magic, she made up for with sheer physical strength. She had used that strength multiple times on Mirumo, sometimes by accident, but most of the time because he had made her furious through his indifferent and selfish attitude and actions at certain intervals.

 _Mirumo-sama… why won't you return here? Is it because of me?_

Rirumu cared for her precious Mirumo-sama, but the million-dollar question was whether he cared for her back? The answer to that question wasn't really obvious. While some of the others would say 'no', Rirumu knew otherwise in her heart. She started to smile, reminiscing about a fond memory she held very close to her.

She had first met Mirumo at the Royal Palace when they were both children. As a carefree child, he was a lot more open with his feelings. He had been brave, and had even bashfully held her hand to guide her through a cave when they were lost exploring it. She earnestly recalled that in that cave, Mirumo had used his magic to conjure up a flower, handing it to her so as to cheer her up when she'd lost hope in ever making it out of the complicated maze of tunnels.

That flower had sealed both of their fates.

When the palace guards finally managed to locate the two lost children and had them both returned safely, their parents had immediately agreed for the both of them to be engaged in the future. When they saw that Mirumo had given her a flower, they were certain on the pair's compatibility and assured them both that, years later, they would be together and married. As young children, neither a distracted Mirumo nor Rirumu understood the politics of what was being discussed at the time, but it really didn't matter to her. All that mattered to her back at that moment was that it was a promise, one that stated they would be together forever.

However, it mattered much more to Mirumo. Distracted by a huge piece of chocolate that King Marumo had signaled Daijin to give the young prince, he hadn't paid attention to the engagement agreement. This was the reason why years later, he contested the arranged marriage, always citing that while Marumo and Rarumu made the agreement to marry off their children, he himself had never agreed to it. It was why he ran all the way to the Human World when the actual engagement date came up, ending up finding himself becoming partners with Minami Kaede. But in response, Rirumu had chased after him and wound up picking Yuuki as her own partner due to Kaede's closeness to him.

So the question was, why was Mirumo running away now? He could definitely come back from the Muglox World even after Kaede's wish was granted, so why was he adamantly refusing? Rirumu didn't know, and the answer to that question scared her. She inched towards him, fidgeting with her hands before she finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Is it because of me?" She looked directly into Mirumo's eyes as she continued, "Mirumo-sama, is that the reason you're not coming back?"

There were certainly times where she really didn't like Mirumo. Forgetting about their anniversary last year was one of the breaking points, but besides that, they'd always held through. She knew that sometimes she pushed him to the limit, and he pushed her to hers. But in spite of all that, deep down Rirumu knew that Mirumo had always cared for her. He refused to admit it, but in some ways Mirumo hasn't changed a bit, still the same clueless fairy that she first met that day at the castle from all those years ago. It was extremely hard to tell since Mirumo hid his feelings behind a mask of pride as he became older, but every now and then he would lapse and admit indirectly through his actions that he still cared for her. That was why she really hoped that he wasn't leaving to get away from her. Mirumo's feelings for her were really hard to tell, after all, and always flip-flopped on the issue.

Speaking of Mirumo, he still hadn't answered. He had stared at Rirumu with a stunned expression, before a cheeky grin suddenly crept up on his previously grim face. "Do you really think it's because of that?" he chastised. "Of course not! Whatever made you think that, Rirumu?"

Rirumu, along with everyone else, gasped at that. She could see the rest of the group, especially Murumo and Yashichi, with looks of disbelief at Mirumo's prompt denial of the number one reason that he would refuse to come back. It wasn't because he wanted to escape from her again? She couldn't help the smile creeping onto her face. _I believed in you, Mirumo-sama! Thank you so much!_

* * *

 _I knew it,_ Mirumo smirked. _I knew that Rirumu would ask that! And now that I definitely surprised the whole lot of them with my answer, it's time to turn the conversation back in my favor!_ He coughed into his hand to catch his friends' attention, "As I was saying, it's not because of Rirumu," he added on to his previous statement in clarification, "But there _is_ another reason I can't come back here." Like he'd predicted, this shocked the stunned fairies out of their stupor.

Finally, Panta floated forward and asked the question that was on their minds. "Then _why_ can't you come back, Mirumo-oniichan?"

Murumo nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, it's not like you to leave without a good reason. What is it, onii-sama?"

Whup. It looks like it was really time now. With a question like that posed directly, there was no way he could beat around the bush any longer. "Uh, it's because…" Mirumo started, hesitating before finally finishing his sentence, "It's because of the Gaia Tribe."

…

"WHAT?!"

Mirumo fell back from the sheer amplitude of everyone screaming at him. Yeesh! Couldn't they be softer? Any louder and he would go deaf! Murumo then rushed to him to help him up. "O-Onii-sama," he stuttered, "What did you just say? The Gaia Tribe? What does the Gaia Tribe have anything to do with this?"

Mirumo looked away from his younger brother's face. He had known that they would ask about the fabled Gaia Tribe the very moment he muttered their name. To most fairies, the Gaia Tribe were mysterious, all-powerful overlords. The Royal Family might rule over and govern the Fairy World, but they themselves were mere puppet heads to the Gaians. The Gaia Tribe were responsible for the creation of magic itself, gifting each newborn fairy with a musical instrument. Not only were they responsible for imbuing every single fairy with the power of magic, but their own power was paramount in comparison. Each Gaian controlled one of the elements, and with all five together… well, to summarize, no one short of a death wish would mess with them.

Ironically, being the gods of the Muglox World didn't stop the Gaians from being well, normal, in a sense. Most fairies do not visit the realm where the Gaians live and hence really do not know the Gaia Tribe outside of teachings. But to someone who has personally met them a couple of times like Mirumo, they were a bunch of imbeciles at times. They looked like normal fairies. They mess up like normal fairies. They even act and have feelings like normal fairies. Really, the Gaians were just normal fairies, except with extraordinary power.

So why did the group have to screw him over _now_? He never really had any reason to hate them previously. Not when they'd made him and Kaede solve stupid riddles to get the Mic on a strict time limit when they were trying to beat the Warumo Gang's hypnotic Dark Magic Crystal, one of the few times they had to take the normally-incompetent group as a serious threat. Not when they'd fought amongst themselves about which was the best of their favorite food, which had led to the Muglox World being infested and nearly overrun by the blob-like creatures they had unintentionally summoned in their argument. Mirumo had been so patient with them that he didn't even complain when they had conscribed him, Rirumu, Yashichi and Murumo to be the chosen ones to save both the Human and Fairy Worlds from an entity of pure evil itself, the one who had manipulated both the Warumo Gang and Akumi. At least that last one came with multiple boosts to his and his friends' magical abilities with Session Magic, so it was overall a plus in Mirumo's books.

But now…

" _Once a fairy grants his or her partner's true wish, the partnership between the two is cancelled and you would be unable to enter the Human World again."_

His father's voice from that fateful call rang in his ears once again. Mirumo put his hands to his ears, wishing he could unhear them. Hoping futilely that he could forget the words his dad had said to him on that transmission a few hours ago.

" _The Gaia Tribe were the ones who made this rule!"_

And since the Gaians were the ones who had made the rule, the absolute worst part for Mirumo was that the Gaia Tribe had kept it secret from him and Kaede. The five of them had to have known that he and Kaede would be separated the instance he was able to grant her wish. And yet, they had never said a thing, not even a whisper of a clue given. Even Pikumu, the indisputable nicest of the five, had not given them any slight hint as to the rule's existence.

" _You have one hour after your partner's wish is granted. That's all the time you have. If you do not return to the Muglox World by then, then a grave punishment will befall you!"_

As if an hour was a lot of time! Why did that stupid rule have to exist? Why did the Gaia Tribe have to craft such an idiotic rule? Worse still, it was impossible to talk sense to the Gaians, as the five were very stubborn. Of course they would never retract the rule from mere words alone, and the other alternative, threatening them with force, was tantamount to suicide. Mirumo had seen the difference in their powers, and he certainly wasn't stupid. He might be a member of the Royal Family, but even _his_ magic stood no chance against theirs.

He and Kaede would never be reunited. They could never ever see each other again…

Mirumo couldn't help it. The thought of them being separated for eternity caused him to go faint, and he found himself collapsing to the ground again.

"Mirumo-sama! Are you okay?"

He groaned, looking up at Rirumu's concerned voice, his hands still clasped on his ears. He realized that he had to look like a wreck. Actually, to hell with appearances. Mirumo couldn't care less with them by this point. "It's the Gaia Tribe's stupid fault!" Mirumo bawled out, starting to have tears in his eyes. "Those damn idiots made a dumb rule that states that when a Muglox Fairy grants their partner's true wish, they can never return back to the Human World!"

"What the heck! I never heard of such a thing!" Yashichi might have shouted that in his usual edgy manner, but there was no doubt about his true feelings. The worry that showed on his face gave it away. The seriousness of the situation was starting to sink in for him. He must have realized how bad it truly was when Mirumo showed a sign of weakness in front of his rival, which was a very rare occasion indeed.

Mirumo laughed at that reply, cheering up a little. It looked to Mirumo that Yashichi was still an idiot at heart. Wasn't the answer obvious? He got up from the ground and continued, "Of course not! Did you think the Gaia Tribe would tell everyone and their mother about this? I mean, come on! Not one of us knew. I didn't even know before tonight, until my nosy oyaji called me."

A unpleasant feeling gradually descended upon the group. That much was definitely true. But if so, then they should have been aware about this law if Mirumo wasn't lying. So why wasn't it made known to them? Being the brash one, Papii slowly ventured forward and gave the answer everyone else was frightened to give, afraid as though it would turn to be true if they said it out loud. "They're hiding it from us."

"Yeah, Papii." Mirumo nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately for us all it's highly likely that you're right. The Gaia Tribe, oyaji, possibly Enma-sensei… they all knew about this and never told us. It's a darn cover-up. After all, if you grant your partner's wish, you'll be forced away from them. You will never be with your human partners again! Like for you guys," He pointed to each fairy one by one, listing off their partners in turn, "You won't ever see Morishita, Hidaka, Sumita, Yuuki or Matsutake ever again! You tell me, which fairy in their right mind would agree to enroll in the Human Partnership Program if they knew that they'll end up losing what they care about the most at the epilogue?"

Panta started to stutter a response. "But, Mirumo-oniichan—"

"No buts, Panta!" Mirumo shot the ghost a serious glare that made Panta jump back by about three feet. "You might be a fairy ghost and made some sort of deal to come back here to the realm of the living," he went on, "But I bet that if you were to grant Morishita's wish to be a successful mangaka, then you'll likely be taken back too!"

Panta looked distraught after Mirumo yelled at him. It wasn't so much from the act of Mirumo's outburst itself, but rather from the fairy's honest opinion and words that caused him to start to doubt and second-guess himself. "B-b-but, being a manga artist is what Haruka-oneechan always wanted to be. I want to make her happy, but if I do—" Fear struck across his face, "—then I'll have to leave her! I don't want to leave her! Then, what do I do? What do I-wah!" Mirumo flinched when Panta burst into tears without any warning. Great, he hadn't wanted to make Panta cry. As if Panta beginning to snivel up was like triggering a switch, now Rirumu was sobbing too. Murumo looked ready to bawl as well, and the other two didn't look so good either. At the rate this was going, he was starting to regret not stealing as many tissues as treats.

On second thought, it might have been for the better that he hadn't. With a fairy ghost who had a history of haunting others like Panta involved, the whole apartment flat would have definitely cooked up a youkai story of a crying spirit that stole tissues.

* * *

"Alright…" Mirumo addressed the group warily, as though they were a fragile mirror that could shatter at any moment. "So has everybody managed to calm themselves down yet?"

There were five simultaneous hesitant nods. Panta's outcry had all deeply affected them, especially after he'd asked the question that all of them had been asking within themselves — how would they be able to accept leaving after they'd managed to grant their human partner's wish?

Rirumu stomped her foot on the ground, breaking the silence… and a good portion of the concrete by her feet as well. "This isn't fair, it's not fair…" she mumbled to herself over and over again like a broken vinyl record.

Mirumo sighed in despair, before agreeing with her comment. "It isn't, Rirumu. Not at all." He gazed longingly at the full moon in the sky. "But there's nothing that any of us can do about this."

Yashichi clenched his fist, taking a step towards Mirumo. "Then what's the point, Mirumo!?" he angrily asked.

"There is a point for me telling you this besides pity!" Mirumo snapped back. "The reason I'm telling you all is so that you're all aware about this. At the very least, you won't be caught off guard like me and Kaede were."

"But onii-sama," Murumo tilted his head. "How is Kaede-san taking this?" he asked.

Mirumo flinched at his brother's astute observation. Oh great. Of course someone would bring topic this up. He looked down to avoid Murumo's eyes, mumbling his response in a small voice, "She doesn't know about this, I wiped her memory of this conversation. By the time she remembers about it, it would be too late. I'll leave for the Fairy World without telling her." Noticing the shocked looks of everyone else by his admission, Mirumo realized with a jolt that he had to think fast. "Wait, wait, wait!" he started to plead, "Please don't tell Kaede that I'm leaving!"

Papii stared at him with a skeptical look. "You want to leave without Kaede-san knowing? But why? Isn't she your human partner? Aren't you two really close?"

 _Oh yes we were, Papii. Close enough that Kaede pretty much lost it once I had been forced to explain the situation. To add insult to injury, if I agreed to go, she would be unable to see all the other fairies. Not being able to interact with Rirumu, Murumo, or Papii? Of course she'd go hysterical._ Mirumo grimaced at the memory. He had been forced to use magic to wipe her memory of their conversation. The guilt there on his part didn't help matters. He needed to get away from Kaede for a while. It was another reason he had called the meeting after all, just for him to vent out his anger and grief to his friends.

Finally, he looked up, locking eyes with his friends and giving his reply to her question in a pained voice, "I don't want to get in Kaede's way. She… deserves to have Yuuki by her side after all this time. I refuse to let Kaede's wish not be granted just because of some dumb rule made by the Gaia Tribe!" Mirumo started smiling as the rest slowly began to cheer up from their previously sombre mood. "Hey, y'all, this isn't goodbye forever! You all can still totally visit me in the Muglox World, so I expect all of you to dutifully do just that!" he pointed out. "Please do update me about the situation in the Human World!"

Mirumo expected the stupefied looks. After all, the Muglox Prince was well-known for his selfishness, and such caring acts were usually rare. But what Mirumo hadn't expected in the slightest was for the whole lot of them to surround him in a group hug.

"Mirumo-sama! I'll be sure to visit you every week and tell you all about Yuuki-sama and Kaede-sama, so don't you forget about me!" Rirumu started hugging him so hard that Mirumo felt that he was losing his breath.

"Yeah, Mirumo! Did you think we'll all abandon you, you idiot?" Yashichi muttered in a sappy tone. "No way! I'll be back to kick your butt!" Mirumo couldn't help but smile. That guy cared in his own small way, at least.

Panta beamed at Mirumo fondly. "I'll miss you, Mirumo-oniisama! You were the best big brother I could ask for!" With some effort, Mirumo reached his arm out from the mess of crammed fairies to pat Panta gently on the head. With the way Panta kept on calling him "onii-sama", sometimes he had to remember that unlike Murumo, they weren't actually blood siblings.

Speaking of Murumo, his younger brother hugged him from behind in a grip that was almost as firm as Rirumu's. "Yeah! I know you well, onii-sama, so please don't act stupid and be sure to enjoy your days back at Mirumo Village!"

"Take care, Mirumo-san!" Papii waved before lowering her voice to a grumble, "Don't worry! I know that when you're gone, it's going to be all on me to take care of Murumo. I'll make sure that he isn't all alone here in the Human World!"

"P-Papii!" Murumo stuttered, "Oi, just what's that supposed to mean, huh?" The group hug was unexpectedly disbanded when his brother and Papii separated and began yet another one of their verbal quarrels. But it didn't take long for Murumo and Papii to be forced apart. The two hotheaded fairies were both exhausted and thus couldn't really keep up their fight. It was so late and what everyone had just learnt was so daunting that everyone was collectively looking forward to heading back to bed. In addition, since they all learned from Mirumo and Rirumu that the predicted confession between Kaede and Yuuki would be set at noon, in less than twelve hours, all of the fairies wanted to hurry up and catch up on their sleep. None of them wanted to miss out on such an important event because they overslept.

As for Mirumo, he yawned loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth. The haughty fairy couldn't care less about dignity after he'd burst into tears in front of his friends. "Good night, everyone! See you tomorrow at noon!" he bid the others a final goodbye, before taking out his fans and flying upwards. It was much easier to fly without carrying a huge bag of treats, he reflected. Looking back, he could see the rest of them all flying away in various directions.

Mirumo lazily grinned in victory. It appeared that the meeting he had been dreading was finally adjourned, successfully and productively to boot. He glanced at his watch as he flew past a street lamp. The hour hand of the analog watch was firmly square on the number "1", signifying that it was one o' clock. Mirumo was surprised that merely half an hour had passed since he'd arrived. He'd honestly thought that more time had passed.

It was simply amazing just what could change in such a short span of time. He couldn't keep the sappy smile off his face as he realized that so much had happened in the past few hours since his father had called him up. It seemed to Mirumo that Plan 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' had worked out in the end, even though him breaking down was completely spontaneous and not in the script. But it didn't matter to Mirumo, since in the end the meeting had done its job. Yes, his friends were now safe. He felt like he had saved the ones he cared about from suffering a similar fate since they now knew the Gaia Tribe's secret rule for human partnerships. Rather, they would be prepared and wouldn't end up heartbroken after they granted their partners' wishes. "Take that, Gaia Tribe!" Mirumo thought, flying back to Kaede's home with a confident smirk. "You might be all-mighty and powerful, but all of my friends know about your little secret now. You can't rob them of their partners the way you robbed me of mine!"

That was certainly enough of a victory for Mirumo. In his eyes, he'd managed to secure a win against the Gaia Tribe.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 8/6/2018._

That's a wrap for the ending of Episode 170 and the start of Episode 171. We're still firmly in canon as of now. The next two chapters will pretty much be the remainder of anime episode 171, and will also pretty much reveal the key difference between this story and the episode itself. Do look forward to it!


	5. Pride and Fall

**Chapter 5: Pride and Fall**

"Come on, Kaede!" The blue fairy nagged, tapping his foot impatiently against the top of the table. "Today's your big day, you can't possibly be late for this! Just because you are meeting Yuuki doesn't give you the excuse of taking forever to decide what to wear. Hurry up and choose one already!"

Kaede groaned at the carefree fairy's callous remark. Mirumo absolutely did not understand girls most of the time, although that much was obvious if the number of times Rirumu had bashed him up over a petty remark was used as an indicator. Instead of getting annoyed by him, she chose to ignore her fairy partner's insensitive comments and continued looking through her wardrobe for the perfect outfit. "Don't worry, Mirumo!" she reassured the grumbling Muglox, "I'm just deciding the best outfit for later! Aha, I think Yuuki-kun would love this one. Look, orange blouse with jeans! What do you think, Mirumo?"

Mirumo gave her an irritated look as he crossed his arms. "Gah, Kaede! You're just messing with me because I already told you in advance that Yuuki is going to return your feelings!"

Kaede might have teasingly stuck her tongue out at Mirumo to let the exasperated fairy know that he'd hit the mark, but on the inside, her heart was pounding. Mirumo had managed to read her like an open book, nailing down her thoughts down to the letter. She had truly been waiting for this moment for years, and what Mirumo had said to her yesterday confirmed her wildest dreams.

" _You see, a Muglox Fairy's mug only glows when their human partner's wish is fulfilled. Do you get what that means, Kaede? It means Yuuki-kun is going to return your feelings at the meeting tomorrow!"_

Yuuki-kun actually liked her back! After all the years she'd pined for him, he would finally be hers. It was unbelievable, especially since for a time she was just willing to watch him from a distance. For many years, up until she was in eighth grade last year, she was so shy that she didn't even dare to approach Yuuki on her own accord, much to the dismay of her tomboyish friend Etsumi. Until Kaede had met with the pint-sized Mirumo, she had never been involved with Yuuki.

That day, Mirumo had some choice words for her. _"Give up on Yuuki, Kaede,"_ he had said, the fairy being completely blunt and straight to the point. " _You're too meek, too indirect. He would never notice someone like you."_ After Mirumo's harsh advice on that fateful day, Kaede had to re-evaluated her entire relationship with Yuuki. Upon self-reflection, she realized that Mirumo was completely right. She was indeed too meek, and that was the reason that Hidaka-san had managed to steal Yuuki-kun's attention away as of late. In light of Mirumo's advice, she had gathered the courage to talk to him, and decided that she would make her feelings clear to the boy. No longer was she willing to let Yuuki-kun end up getting stolen away by Hidaka-san simply because the new transfer student was more willing to act on her feelings.

After she'd set her mind and heart to win over Yuuki by being there for him, Mirumo decided to join her for good to help her in her quest. Overall, Kaede had to admit that it had been a rough year for her relationship, one that had tried and tested her patience between her and Yuuki. But despite everything, her crush still cared. And now, it looked like he had chosen her over the others.

"If that's the case, Yuuki-kun won't judge me for whatever attire I choose to wear."

Mirumo looked surprised, his own eyes deep in thought. It looks like he had not expected such a deep answer from someone who he previously called a ditz. "Oh fine, I get it. Wear whatever you want." All of a sudden, the outgoing fairy lowered his voice. "By the way, I won't be following you today."

Kaede did a double-take from that. Did she hear that right? Mirumo didn't want to come? That seemed impossible to her. Upon meeting her gaze, Mirumo seemed to look nervous, darting his eyes left and right. "Eh, uh, you know me, Kaede," he stumbled as he twiddled his thumbs, "I'm terrible at relationships. Just look at me and Rirumu! I wouldn't want to mess things up for ya, heehee!" Seeing her still look unconvinced, he lay himself down on the table, letting out a tired yawn. "Don't worry, I'll meet you afterwards! Be sure to do your best, Kaede! And don't forget to give me Kumoccho when you get back!"

Kaede couldn't help but feel as though something seemed a little off with Mirumo there. He might have had a point with what he said, but there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her head on. His posture was stiff and his smile seemed a little… forced? The two of them had been working for this very moment for the better part of a year, so why did he not seem happy?

" _I wish for Yuuki-kun to return my feelings. Please grant my wish, Muglox Fairy of love!"_

Was that not the wish that she had made upon Mirumo's mug after she'd purchased it from Mimomo's Magic Shop? At first, Kaede thought that she had got a mug containing a real fairy by accident or luck, like a wish upon a shooting star. It was only later that she learnt that fairies can specifically request for mugs to be delivered to a specific human, allowing humans who knew about fairies to be used as a proxy for that very purpose. One of those mugs that contained Murumo-chan in secret had even been hand delivered to Matsutake-san as a present. All in all, she had been personally responsible for three of her friends getting their own Muglox Fairies as partners.

The irony was that Kaede later found out that unlike the other fairies, which had deliberately scoped out their human partners in advance, she had gotten ahold of Mirumo's mug by sheer accident. He had been running away from Rirumu at the time, and the sheer willpower of her wish had sucked him into the transfer dome between the two worlds. Mirumo hadn't requested to be her partner at all, to the point where he was so fed up that he wanted to leave when they'd first met. And yet in the end, he'd ironically stayed as her fairy partner through thick and thin. The duo had been through crazy situations, love drama, and even a world destruction ploy, which is more than what most people could add to their job resume.

But despite the fact that Mirumo finally accomplished her wish, he looked… resigned. There was something different about the fairy's mood as compared to yesterday. "Whatever," Kaede thought, "Mirumo probably had a bad night. He has massive mood swings sometimes." She chuckled. Oh, he had mood swings alright, and most of them had to do with chocolate. It was unbelievable how obsessive he got with Kumoccho in particular. Whenever she got into a conversation with him, one in five of them ended with a request that she buy more Kumoccho for him, with Mirumo behaving exactly how a child would beg his parents for pocket money. If it really was another chocolate mood swing, she could question him later — after the meeting with Yuuki-kun.

Waving goodbye to Mirumo, she was about to walk out of the front door when something caught her eye. The glowing mug.

" _Oh yeah, my glowing mug? You see, a Muglox Fairy's mug only glows when their human partner's wish is fulfilled."_

In spite of those words of reassurance from Mirumo, she was unable to help but remain wary of the glowing mug. It was starting to bug her, since her sense of worry made absolutely no sense at all. The glowing mug being the confirmation that Yuuki-kun liked her meant that that soft glow should have consoled and filled her with joy. And yet, somehow the blue glow came across as eerie and sinister. She tried to tug upon her mind as to why she would feel that way, but she couldn't think of any reason besides gut feeling. It was almost like there was something she was forgetting about the mysterious glow. Something important…

Oh well. Whatever it was, it was a mystery that could wait until later. Because right now, she had a very important appointment to catch!

* * *

Rirumu was sitting atop a tree branch, high enough to be out of sight to anyone below. She was here to witness this historic moment, but rather amusingly she wasn't the only one. Her partner probably had the most eavesdropped-on conversation in existence. Since Mirumo had the honoring of spoiling that the event was happening, literally everyone had decided to spy on Kaede and Yuuki. Mirumo had joined her at the tree branch a few minutes ago, but the rest of them were hiding behind a bush since they brought along their human partners, who unfortunately couldn't fly. As a result, her poor friends didn't have quite as good a view on the ground, much less panoramic than her aerial view. In fact, from her vintage point she could actually not only see the main event, but also the ones who were supposed to be hiding behind the bush as well.

She let out a small giggle. Their supposed hiding spot was actually blatantly obvious from a high location like hers. But to be fair, if Murumo, Papii and Panta had decided to bring Haruka, Kaoru and Azumi to spy from the tree branch she was currently on instead, the combined weight would likely make it break and reveal everyone to Kaede and Yuuki once they all landed in a tumbled heap to the ground. Hearing her laughter, Mirumo nudged her on the shoulder, "Oi, Rirumu. Don't get distracted, will ya? Kaede's here!"

Her eyes brightened up and shone upon hearing Mirumo bring up Kaede's name. Rirumu first met with Kaede when she had literally dragged Yuuki-sama to her apartment in the process of finding Mirumo, and quickly became fast friends with her in spite of the fact that one was a fairy and the other a human girl. The two had swiftly made a pact to both help each other out in their endeavor for love. Many of the others were surprised that she and Kaede managed to get along so well, considering that Kaede wasn't even her human partner.

But to Rirumu, the reason they clicked so well wasn't too surprising at all. After all, the whole reason she chose Yuuki-sama as her partner in the first place was to get close to Mirumo. When she had discovered that Mirumo-sama's partner also had an unrequited love on her own human partner, she felt deeply touched and connected well with the girl due to their similar situations. The two could relate to each other, and thus ever since then Rirumu had worked together with Kaede behind the scenes to ensure both of their relationships would work out. And now, it finally had. Yuuki-sama had finally sorted out his muddled feelings, and finally realized and understood Kaede's unending love for him.

As Yuuki and Kaede began to talk it out, Rirumu could sense the beginning of a new and lasting relationship between the two. Her partner was tense, but was talking with a firm resolution on his face in spite of his clear nervousness. "I'm sorry. At the beginning, I didn't understand my feelings very well. I've hurt every one of you with my indecisiveness. Morishita, Hidaka, and even you, Minami. It was my reluctance and hesitation to commit to a relationship that had been my Achilles' heel." He looked down, briefly ashamed, but at the same time, proud that he had managed to acknowledge and overcome his shortcomings.

Yuuki-sama understood, he finally understood! As his partner, Rirumu almost wanted to cheer out loud, but she kept silent to avoid blowing her cover. The last thing that any one of them wanted was for this long-awaited conversation to be awkwardly interrupted.

Not noticing multiple pairs of eyes on him, Yuuki nervously bit his lip as he looked at Kaede. "Seeing how not only Matsutake, but also Sumita had both confessed their love for Minami, I knew that I also had to make my own feelings clear…" Everyone at the park held their breath as they awaited the next sentence, although most of them had already known what it was going to be in advance. Yuuki looked down into Kaede's eyes with firm courage and vigor. "I won't hesitate any longer! I love you, Minami!" he declared.

There were multiple gasps at that statement. Looking at the bush, she could see that Matsutake had the most dismay on his face. She figured that Murumo-sama didn't tell his partner the full truth… after all, Matsutake probably would have been unable to handle the shock. The rest of them however, were taking it relatively well. As she glanced to her left, she couldn't help but grin. It seemed as though Mirumo himself also had a goofy smile on his face. It was another moment of his selfish façade breaking. Despite Mirumo pretending to act like he doesn't care, he usually did in his own special way, deep down inside of him.

Rather uncharacteristically of her usual personality, Kaede enthusiastically replied without the slightest hint of shyness, "I love you too, Yuuki-kun!" the girl reciprocated as she joyfully clasped her hands together.

At their mutual confession, Rirumu jumped for joy, happy for the two of them. They were so cute together! Finally, after so long, they got together! She continued to rapidly hop until she heard a panicked voice from beside her. "Rirumu, stop! You're shaking the tree branch so hard that it's gonna break!" Looking to her left, she saw Mirumo clinging desperately to the branch and quickly stopped her excited jumping spree. _Oh no, I didn't mean that! I always accidentally get Mirumo-sama into trouble…_

After the shaking slowly stabilized, Mirumo hesitantly let go of the branch after he was certain that he was able to balance on it with his own two feet again. "Well, thanks for the scare, Rirumu," he started sarcastically before suddenly pausing, as if remembering that he shouldn't ruin Kaede's day with a fight. The fairy used his hand to straighten his messy hair before continuing on in a nicer tone. "To be honest, you picked a good spot, I enjoyed the view from up here. But I think that's enough for me."

She glanced at Mirumo with a confused expression. What did he mean by 'enough for him'?

"Well then," he waved, "I think it's time for me to go. See you in the Muglox World, Rirumu."

Shocked by the sudden turn of the conversation, she whirled to her left, "Wait, Mirumo-sama! Aren't you going to say goodbye to Kaede-sama at the very least?"

"Nah… there's nothing left for me in the Human World." He shook his head with a sad smile. "I've done everything that I could. See ya!" After his reply, he wordlessly took off to the skies, headed in the direction of Kaede's house.

"Mirumo-sama!" she called out with a gasp as Mirumo flew away. _That stubborn Mirumo-sama!_ Whatever, she could forget about him for now. Rirumu looked back down at the new couple below her and couldn't resist one last cheeky, selfish thought. _Since Kaede-sama and Yuuki-sama finally got together, maybe this means I can finally get married to my dear Mirumo-sama!_

* * *

"Marumo-sama!"

Daijin might be the most trusted advisor in the Royal Castle, but even he thought that King Marumo could sometimes be unfair and made impossible demands. This was one of those times. He had been given the whole morning to contact everyone in Mirumo Village so as to let the Mirumo Tribe welcome Prince Mirumo back to the Muglox World. Daijin was really tempted to tell the king that quite frankly, the logistics needed for a task like this one on such short notice was pretty much impossible.

The main problem was that as a servant, you couldn't exactly tell something like that to royalty…

" _According to the Gaia Tribe law, Mirumo is only allowed one hour. I got word from Murumo that Kaede-san's wish would be completed at noon exactly. That means that by one o'clock at the latest, Mirumo would be back in the Muglox World. Well, Daijin! I say we hold a surprise party for my son outside the transfer dome!"_

If only the king hadn't surprised him with _that_ on such short notice! Marumo had given Daijin the instructions only at eight in the morning. Honestly, how did he expect anyone to prepare and host such an event only five hours in advance? Frankly, it just wasn't enough time!

"Marumo-sama…" he began, "I have tried to contact everyone in Mirumo Village, but the village is too big. We can't even coordinate a large scale celebration involving any humans or even the nearby Gurumi Tribe. Unfortunately, it is simply impossible for them to make time for such an event with a mere three to four hours of notice."

This was the moment of truth. The king boasted a very short temper, and thus he knew that Marumo could get angry very easily. Daijin just had to hope that he was able to explain his case well enough and that everything would be fine. "As a result, I have taken the liberty of contacting just the ones whom Prince Mirumo is close to," he said as a compromise.

Marumo raised his eyebrows. "And who might that be?"

"Mirumo's classmates in the Fairy School." he responded. "Enma-sensei will be following as well."

"And…?"

Daijin fidgeted, furrowing his brow before heaving a sigh in defeat. "That is all, your Majesty," he admitted.

Silence filled the throne room for a while before Marumo's stern face melted to one of indifference. "Well, that's alright! We should celebrate my son completing the tough human world training that so few fairies have managed to succeed at. And what better way to do that than to brag about it to Enma-sensei's face!"

Daijin let out a sigh in relief as the king dropped the topic. Whatever Marumo had done back in Fairy School in the past caused him to apparently still hold a minor gripe with the headmaster. Mentioning Enma-sensei had distracted the king from the fact that Daijin had been unable to contact as many people as Marumo had originally wanted.

"Daijin," Marumo said in an authoritative tone as he walked across the hall. "Be sure to bring lots of chocolate for Mirumo. You know how much my son loves those!"

He gave a polite bow in return. Just as he was about to take his leave to continue on with the preparations, a chilling thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Marumo-sama," Daijin began, "Pardon me for asking, but what about Saria-sama?"

"S-Saria?" Marumo stuttered as his wife was brought up. At that weak response, Daijin gazed at the king, who had suddenly begun to look really nervous in a rather suspicious twist. "Aren't you inviting your wife as well?" he carried on questioning. "Wouldn't the queen want to see Mirumo-sama back as well, your majesty?"

The stammering king pretty much answered his query. It looked as though that once again, Marumo had forgotten to inform his wife of some important matters. Really, Daijin sometimes understood why Queen Saria got so fed up with her husband. Walking out of the throne room, he called out to the frozen Marumo. "Do not worry, Marumo-sama. I will personally tell the Queen about the scheduled party," he reassured.

And what a party it was going to be. Despite the fact that he had to organize an event like this, even he himself was getting hyped up for it. Who wouldn't be excited? After a whole year, it was time for the crown prince, Mirumo-sama, to finally come home!

Quite frankly, Daijin held the opinion that it would be a day that the entire Muglox World would remember forever.

* * *

Mirumo glared at the glowing mug with all the hatred he could possibly muster up.

If looks could kill, then his mug would have already been smashed, shattered into tiny shards of porcelain. How he wished that could happen, but unfortunately looks couldn't smash through porcelain, and only the beauty-obsessed Bike would claim otherwise. He still recalled with anger when that imbecile had tried to use his suave looks to get a glass bottle to break during the time his head was stuck in said bottle.

So if looks couldn't kill, how else was he able to destroy the mug, huh? Smashing it to the ground? Throwing it out of the window? A giant hammer? Hand it to Rirumu? It was honestly too bad that Mirumo couldn't really test any of these methods since he needed the mug intact for what he had to do. It seemed so easy in theory, didn't I? All that was required of him was to jump inside his mug and be whisked back to the Muglox World. He'd performed this act so many times before in the past, so why was he hesitating now?

"Oh yeah," Mirumo thought sarcastically, "Because this time there would be no way back for me, ever." Since a fairy's mug only acted as a form of transfer, it might as well be useless after this, as this would be the last time that he would ever find himself crossing worlds. At the thought, he dropped his glare at the porcelain mug and looked away. He couldn't even bear to look at his mug, let alone get anywhere near or inside it. Despite everything he had said to his friends yesterday, it seemed that there was no averting his own fate. He might have pre-empted them, but it looked like he himself would be forced away from the Human World… and Kaede.

" _Don't worry, I'll meet you afterwards! Do your best, Kaede! Don't forget to give me Kumoccho when you get back!"_

That was a great big lie, of course. He wouldn't be there at all when Kaede came back to her house. Not now, not ever, and most certainly not for chocolate clouds. Mirumo shook his head in a daze. He couldn't believe that he had said that false line of reassurance to her earlier. But alas, he had no choice. At that instant, Kaede had seemed to look through him, and in his fright and fear of being cornered and forced to admit the truth, he had whispered false words of assurances to calm her down.

But what good was that white lie now?

Mirumo might have been forced to wipe her memories of their conversation yesterday with his magic, but now the guilt of what he had done truly set in. The spell he had cast on her would wear off soon. And then what would happen after that? Heart pounding, he realized that she would remember everything.

But Kaede would forgive him, right? Right?

He looked down in shame as he realized that the answer to that might not be an affirmative yes, but rather a heartbreaking no. No, Mirumo knew Kaede well enough. Worse off, he wouldn't ever have a chance to apologize to her, to explain himself, or even talk to her, all because he couldn't come back, courtesy of his father and the Gaia Tribe.

He couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't lie to Kaede any longer.

" _You must come back immediately after your partner's wish has been granted. The time limit is one hour and that's final!"_

One hour…

Mirumo took a long, hard look at his watch, which told him that the time now was half past twelve. That left him with just thirty minutes to find Kaede, say his apologies as well as a tearful goodbye, and take his leave for the final time.

A mere thirty minutes…

No, it _wasn't_ too late. He jumped off the table and flew out of the window as fast as his arms could flap his aerial fans. _Hang on, Kaede! I'm coming! I'm so sorry! I had to do it!_

" _Aren't you going to say goodbye to Kaede at least?"_ Rirumu's sincere words rang out in his mind again.

 _Oh, I changed my mind,_ he told himself. _I am going to say goodbye to her, Rirumu. Sure, Kaede'll sob and maybe ground me, oh and I'll never get that Kumoccho she promised me, but she'll understand in the end. I know she'll understand everything I did and the reasons why I had to do it as well! Everything is going to turn out perfectly fine,_ he reassured himself. _Perfectly fi–omph!_

With a whomp, Mirumo suddenly hit something in the air headfirst and fell straight to the ground, wincing when he impacted the pavement. "What the…?" he mumbled as he clutched his nose. As he looked upwards to see what he had hit, Mirumo observed that there was some sort of barrier floating in the air. His eyes narrowed as he witnessed the absurd sight. There was no way that a barrier would suddenly appear randomly in the middle of his flight path. Furthermore, it was floating magically in the sky, which meant that its placement there had to be a deliberate act of sabotage. As if to confirm that thought, a familiar assortment of voices spontaneously began to echo from behind him.

"Where there is darkness in this world…"

"…we will spread fear and wickedness!"

"We arrive with the wind…"

"…and disappear with the wind!"

"We are the five black shadows!"

 _Oh, you have got to be kidding me,_ Mirumo facepalmed _. Not these imbeciles, not at a time like this!_

"Ichirou!"

"Jirou!"

"Saburou!"

"Shirou!"

"Gorou!"

That was _it_. Mirumo lost his patience with them right there and then.

On a villainous scale with the numbers ranging from 1 to 10, the Warumo Gang's threat level was usually a negative integer, way off the numeric scale due to their manner of utter stupidity. Even Gabin wasn't the slightest bit scared of them! Now _that_ definitely had to be a new low since the worrywort pessimist was terrified of virtually _everything else_. As Mirumo came to the logical conclusion that he had absolutely no time to waste on these morons, he decided to take his chances. Seeing how engrossed in the motto the group were, he tried to move a step back. "Slowly does it, don't draw any attention to yourself…" he mumbled.

Nothing happened as he slowly backed off. There was no shout of panic, no interruption of the group motto. Upon realizing that there was no reaction from the Warumos, he backed away a bit quicker from the scene.

"We're the secret evil organization…"

 _Those idiots are way too distracted talking!_ He had to smirk at their carelessness. Taking out his fans from under his clothes with as little sound as he could, Mirumo decided to chance it and flew off in the middle of their motto. It was a risk that definitely paid off for him. Still engrossed in their speech and unaware of their listener's escape, the five black-clad members finished off their motto with a flourish.

"…Warumo Gang!"

Finally done with their motto, Ichirou stepped forward, speaking to the area where Mirumo was standing at previously, "Prince Mirumo, today is the day we finally get rid of you and overthrow the Muglox World!" he declared. "Get ready for our… eh—!"

Mirumo snorted as Ichirou let out a startled cry. Those fools had only _just_ realized they were talking to nothing but thin air? It was too late for them as well, since the fairy already had more than a ten second head-start on them. They would never be able to catch up to him without drastic measures.

But man, did they try. "Hey, you! Don't run from us!" all five of them yelled at the retreating Mirumo as they took off after him.

He shot them back an annoyed glance. "I don't have the time to be messing around with you imbeciles right now!"

"You have no time? But we have lots of time!" Ichirou shouted at the fleeing Mirumo. "Come back down here, you coward! Are you a chicken?"

His four lackeys jeered as their copied Ichirou's comments, "Yeah, Mirumo! Are you a chicken!?"

Hearing that, Mirumo suddenly stopped his getaway, numb with shock. Did they just insult him? Slowly, he felt anger causing through his body. _How dare that lowlife! Is this how he wants to play?_ Fine then, if that's the case, then he was going to beat them so badly until they blasted off to the skies again. That scenario was looking more and more like an inevitability since there was just no way that he was going to let what Ichirou just said go. Making a U-turn from his original trajectory, he made sure to announce his intentions loud and clear as he swerved back around.

"Butt Attack!" he yelled. Mirumo stopped flapping his arms and kept his fans, launching himself downwards towards the group from a steep descent by letting gravity do the work for him. From the high altitude where he had launched his attack, any targets would be quite flattened, and frankly they deserved it too. He couldn't wait to see their faces being squashed by a fat bum accelerating down from about one hundred feet in the air. _Just look at their stunned faces, the sheer look of terror on their-hey, wait… why are their faces showing the same expression as before?_ Mirumo was genuinely confused by this. Normally the flustered group were all talk and no bark. So why weren't they panicking or retreating? _They are standing still, like sitting ducks! It's almost as if they wanted me to…_

 _No, wait a minute!_

By the time Mirumo realized that he had been lured into a trap, it was too late for him to decelerate or change his course. His five targets had brought out a rope net, almost invisible to him until a few milliseconds before impact. He proceeded to run into it at full throttle, and the force and speed of his descent hitting the epicenter caused the taut net to snap back and wrap around his body completely, surrounding him with layers of thick netting.

He couldn't believe it. He had been trapped by the Warumo Gang of all people! _Stupid, stupid_ , Mirumo cursed his folly in his head. He had let his pride get the better of him again and fallen for such a laughably simple taunt!

"We've done it! We've finally captured Prince Mirumo! Now then," Ichirou gave a condescending laugh towards the captured fairy, "You will pay back for everything you have done to us in spades!"

The other four members echoed their leader's sentiments. "Pay back in spades, Mirumo!"

"Let me go!" Mirumo yelled out, helplessly struggling to break free. He couldn't afford to get captured _now_! Not when he desperately needed to talk to Kaede! As the fairy continued to struggle against his restraint, a blue mug continued to glow many miles away, still waiting for its owner to pass through.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 15/6/2018._

Basically a good portion of anime Episode 171 here — the Yuuki/Kaede confession scene and the Warumo Gang nabbing Mirumo.

This chapter and the next one are basically the turning point of the story. We'll be going completely off the canon train by the next chapter and thus finally wrapping up the introduction to the fic. If you haven't read the original, are you able to guess the fatal mistake that Mirumo made and what happens next?


	6. The Clock Struck One

**Chapter 6: The Clock Struck One**

" _The mistakes I've made are dead to me. But I can't take back the things I never did._ " ― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

* * *

Mirumo was currently in quite a predicament of sorts. Stupid reverse psychology! He would have outrun the Warumo Gang if he had simply ignored their taunting and continued to fly away. But _no_ , he just had to fly back to challenge them one-on-five! He just couldn't resist the chance! And now, it had backfired on him in a glorious fashion. Stupid, stupid pride!

And to make matters worse, Ichirou was rubbing salt into his wound by bragging about his victory over the prince in a rather loud and brash fashion. To be fair, it wasn't as if the Warumo Gang leader could help it. It was extremely rare for them to actually succeed in managing to completely corner Mirumo, so they absolutely could not waste the opportunity. "This is for all of the humiliation that we've had to endure at your hands, Mirumo! For years upon years, we've tried to seize the throne from your family, and this time we _will_ finally succeed!"

Mirumo shot back a deadpan look to Ichirou at his acknowledgement of the Warumo Gang's downright resilient effort in trying to overthrow the kingdom. Perhaps the very fact that it took the group years to even scratch the surface in their ploy to take over the Fairy World should have sent some indicator to them that they weren't cut out to be world dominators? Unfortunately for just about everyone in the Fairy World, the Warumo Gang were just too stubborn to accept that.

In spite of his current situation, Mirumo couldn't help but retort back at them with vitriol, "So were all those years of going after me just because I'm royalty fun?" Ichirou glared at Mirumo upon the mention of the royal family. "We went after you because if we beat you and your family, the Muglox World is ours!"

Mirumo stared at them in response, slack-jawed. Man, those short-sighted fools had no idea. Not noticing Mirumo's expression of disbelief, the Warumo Gang leader continued on with a look of longing in his eyes, "All of you have always been an obstacle to our goal. You, Prince Murumo, Queen Saria, King Marumo. With all of you out of the way, no one will stop us! From the very moment you were born, we were fated to be enemies for all eternity!"

The other four members perked up in agreement. "That's right! Fated to be enemies forever!"

 _Yeah, yeah… carry on monologuing, you idiots! Just long enough for me to… ah, darn it!_ The squirming Mirumo realized that he couldn't reach for his maracas as long as his whole body was surrounded by the net. Without them, he could not easily get out of this situation by casting magic. For fairies to be able to cast magic, they needed to dance with their instruments. But there was no way that he could possibly dance with all of his four limbs bound.

"Control over the Muglox World has always been our goal," Ichirou droned on as Mirumo continued to struggle. "Even when Dark-sama changed our objective to the Human World, we have never wavered from our priorities…"

Mirumo had to physically control the urge to roll his eyes. They weren't fooling anyone. Never wavered from their priorities? What a joke! They all were so terrified of their former boss that they all pretty much did whatever he said without hesitation. And that was when Akumi wasn't upstaging the group at every possible opportunity. It was really humiliating that a single fairy could do more damage than five Warumo Gang members combined.

"And now, you are in the Warumo Gang's hands! The Muglox World is as good as ours! Muhahaha! We will hold your safety for ransom in exchange for the throne!"

 _Good luck with that_ , Mirumo thought sardonically. Even his dad didn't take the group seriously. Right now however, he needed a way to get out, and fast. The more time they wasted, the less time he had to find Kaede. He needed a distraction, bait, freaking anything that he could use to free his body!

"But before we threaten the King, we are going to have our revenge!" With a snap of his fingers, Ichirou materialized his instrument, a shamisen, into existence. Raising the wooden string instrument up high, he brought it down hard to smack Mirumo's left arm. The impact made Mirumo fall back to the ground, wincing in pain. Hearing his cry, Ichirou went on. "You feel that, Mirumo? That was what you'd always done to us! But you never cared when you use your Butt Attack on us, did you?"

 _He admittedly had a point there_ , Mirumo sheepishly thought. _That had actually hurt!_ But then again, on the other end of the spectrum, being gentle on his part was never his strong suit.

"So, what do you think we should do to Mirumo?" Ichirou raised the question as he turned to his loyal team members. The five members proceeded to look at each other, starting to bounce suggestions off one another.

"Let's use a marker to draw on his face!" the monocle-wearing Jirou suggested. "Only this time, it won't be on a glass bottle, but rather Mirumo's actual face!"

Saborou shook his head. "No, let's poke his cheeks instead! Fairies hate it when their cheeks aren't round and puffy!" he explained.

"Nah! Let's dangle Mirumo upside-down until he cannot take it anymore!" Shirou piped up.

Even Gorou joined in the fun. "How about with take off his hat?"

Mirumo raised his eyebrows as all five of the Warumo Gang members debated on the best way to humiliate him. He shook his head in disappointment as they continued to argue. For crying out loud, they couldn't even come up with a simple torture method!

Wait, that was it! Mirumo's eyes lit up as he found his salvation. If they couldn't come up with a plan… then he would give them one. "Oh, whatever you do, please don't tickle me with a needle!" he cried out. It took him all of his willpower to not laugh out loud or to say it in a sarcastic tone. To further seal the deal, Mirumo then added, "Oh no! Uh, I didn't mean to say that!"

A few seconds after he'd opened his mouth, the Warumo Gang was casting their magic, with all five members playing their instruments. "Waru, Waru, Warumo de Pon!" they chanted. After their black magic dance, all five Warumo Gang members had sharp needles in their hands. They then surrounded him in a circle and began to poke and swipe him with had to resist the urge to cry out from the sharp stinging pricks of their needles. _What the… I said 'tickle', not use them like a fencing sword!_

He clenched his eyes shut, refusing to show weakness in front of these guys, of all people! Just as he was reaching his limit and was about to plead for them to stop, the net suddenly fell to the ground, to the shock of the Warumo Gang. "Eh!" All five of them yelled, just realizing that they've been tricked. Just as he planned, they had cut through the net's mesh with the sharp needles.

Grabbing his maracas, Mirumo shouted in anger. "So long, you fools! Mirumo de Pon!" Using his magic, he moved the needles on their own, controlling them like a puppet master. With a vengeful grin, he turned the trajectory of the needles back to the Warumo Gang. "Argh, run!" Ichirou yelled when he saw the floating needles with their sharp ends pointed in his group's direction. Seeing the immediate threat, the five black-clad fairies wasted no time in making their getaway in the opposite direction.

Mirumo let out a hoot of laughter. Did they really think that they could simply run offstage after what they pulled off this time? In their dreams! He swung his maracas, flinging all of the needles at the five like a game of darts. Even from the distance, he could hear frantic shouts of terror from the Warumo Gang as they were being chased by their own weapons. Seeing some of them get stung by the needles felt sweet to Mirumo. Sweet payback, indeed!

Still running erratically, Ichirou cried out. "This isn't over, Mirumo!" he swore as a needle stung his bottom, "We'll be back!"

"Not a chance!" Mirumo hollered back. Now that the Warumo Gang were taken care of, he made haste in finding Kaede. Preparing his fans for take-off again, Mirumo suddenly grimaced and clutched his left arm. The area still hurt a bit from Ichirou's hit, but Mirumo was certain that he could still fly. It was not that bad of an injury, so he could always nurse the bruise later.

Flapping his arms, he flew off once more in search for his partner.

* * *

Panta floated close to Haruka as they both walked back to her home after spying on Yuuki's confession at the park. As they strolled back to the comfort of her house, the fairy ghost looked back at the city, maintaining a long and hard gaze at the buildings around. Despite his cheerful demeanor, he couldn't help but let morbid thoughts cross his mind.

Who would be the unlucky fellow, and what demise would they face?

He had never liked seeing others get hurt or… worse. But as someone who was already dead, he couldn't help but instinctively gaze upon a living person's final moments. He was a ghost, and ghosts by their very nature were able to sense when someone was close to their end. Since Panta was a benevolent ghost, he found the ability to be a curse to him. Some vengeful spirits would sneer or laugh at someone who was about to pass on, but he could never do something like that. His instincts were warning him that something ominous was going to happen to someone out there again, and once more he can only sigh and wish them the best for their afterlife, since there was nary a thing he could do to save them.

Perhaps in a way, he had known that his illness would take him when he had decided to chance a trip to the Human World all those years ago. He'd disobeyed his mother when she had warned him not to go outside, even though some inner voice was screaming at him to stay put at home and rest. Alas, it turned out that said inner voice was right, as Panta had never made it back from that trip alive.

So why had he done it? The honest truth was that Panta didn't even know why he had disobeyed his mother and risked everything just to visit the Human World at first. Was it out of a rebellious streak? Or maybe it was jealousy at the other fairies, who were free to play to their heart's content? Panta didn't know the answer himself for seven whole years after his young and untimely death. It was only when he met Mirumo-oniisan did he truly understand why he'd seized the opportunity to take that chance.

It had taken him many long years of haunting the same school with barely anyone able to perceive his incorporeal form, but he had finally ended up making friends with a whole group of fairies. It'd all started with Mirumo-oniisan, and then afterwards, Mirumo's slew of Human World friends were all willing to accept him as well. When Panta had first met Mirumo, the dead fairy was already alone after seven years of solitude as a ghost. It was only out of Mirumo's own concern that led him to willingly played with Panta. That was when it hit Panta—all he had wanted was a companion… a friend. Being lonely, cooped up at home alone for years of his life was a terrible way to live. No one deserved to live like that.

And now, things were different from the past. It had only been a month since he'd became Haruka-oneechan's fairy partner, but the past few weeks had been the most exciting and fun time of Panta's life — dead and alive combined. He had many friends to talk to and make conversation with, ranging from both humans and fairies. After he was allowed back from the Fairy Heaven, he was even reunited with the girl who he had met during that fateful trip to the Human World, Morishita Haruka, and as a bonus she ended up becoming his human partner. What else could he ask for? As the month went by, everything went well, arguably even close to perfect.

But now, his perfect world was suddenly shattered.

" _No buts, Panta! You might be a fairy ghost and made some sort of deal to come back here to the realm of the living, but I bet that if you were to grant Morishita's wish to be a successful mangaka, then you'll likely be taken back too!"_

Mirumo had arrived yesterday with the startling announcement that granting their human partner's true wish would lead to the separation between the human and fairy partners. Panta looked back up to the sky, where he had been before he'd managed to convince the Heavenly Chief to come down to the Human Realm barely a few weeks ago. If he granted his partner Haruka-oneechan's true wish, it would be at the cost of being taken back up there again… and then what? Well, that much was obvious. Panta would find himself alone again for the second time, thrown right back to where he had started before all of these recent events had happened.

To make Haruka-oneechan at the cost of being all alone again… was that _really_ worth it?

"Panta! Are you okay?"

He flinched when he saw Haruka looking at him with a worried expression. _She noticed? Great, I must really look down. Maybe it's because I'm always so cheerful normally_. His bad mood caught out, Panta promptly landed on Haruka's shoulder to get closer to his partner. "Not really, Haruka-oneechan," he admitted, not going into any details. "I'm fine, honest!" he continued, trying to change the subject. Panta was worried that he might break down and tell her everything if she prodded him further. The last thing he wanted to do was admit the reason as to why he was being upset. His big brother Mirumo had made everyone promise him not to breathe a word about the meeting regarding the Gaia Tribe, and Panta certainly wasn't going to break a promise that he made to Mirumo-oniichan!

Looking at Haruka, Panta came to the realization that she herself wasn't looking so good. "You seem down today, Haruka-oneechan," he stated his observation. "Was it because of what just happened at the park?"

Wait, no. That was a rhetorical question. Seeing Haruka's hurt stare, he realized his mistake and made an attempt to verbally backspace. "It's just that… I know you had to let Yuuki-san go. Are you still hurt by that?"

"I know." Her expression changed to that of a forced smile. "But I've accepted it, Panta, so there's no need to be down." She then pumped her fist with vigor, "I still have other dreams! I mean, I can still try to be a successful mangaka!"

Panta hovered his eyes downwards. That was the other option he could take regarding the situation. The wish that Haruka-oneechan had made upon summoning him was to be a successful mangaka in the cutthroat manga industry. If granting that wish meant that he would be separated from her forever, all Panta simply had to do was make sure that she never became a manga artist. It was simple enough a task for him to pull off as well. Her first manuscript and draft for a sports manga had been rejected by publishers. All he had to do was coax her away from that business line. She could take some other job, any job! All he needed to do was just give his own opinion as a word of advice. Something like, _Haruka-oneechan, I don't think you're cut out for this, I think that yo-you should…_

Panta's thoughts trailed off as he lowered his head in shame. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't tell Haruka-oneechan something like that. Although she might not show it on the outside, he knew that his human partner was already deeply hurt by her separation from her childhood friend. Knowing that her dream of being a successful mangaka was also going to be shattered would be terrible. He didn't dare risk hurting her. The fairy ghost absolutely hated seeing his partner sad.

 _Am I being selfish? Am I selfish for wanting to keep her to myself?_ Panta frowned, before letting out a small sigh. He didn't even have to think twice to figure out the answer to that. He shook his head vigorously. Why should he be selfish? Mirumo-oniisan put Kaede's happiness over his own. So why couldn't he do the same? His face turned firm. Yes, there was no reason not to do what Mirumo did! With a smile on his face, Panta replied, "N-no! You won't just try! You're going to make it this time! I'll continue supporting you and your dream all the way!" He blinked away tears in his eyes as he concluded, "I promise that I will make Haruka-oneechan a star mangaka! I will, no matter what!"

Hearing those words, Haruka held the fairy ghost close to her, holding him tight. "Thank you, Panta! Thank you!"

 _She looks happy again,_ Panta cheered in his heart. _She's finally happy again! She looks exactly like the same carefree Haruka-oneechan I met all those years ago at the park!_

In his renewed resolve, the fairy ghost didn't realize that he had forgotten about his earlier feeling of foreboding doom.

* * *

Stupid Warumo Gang! Those idiots had wasted so much of his time. Why was it that they were always the most irritating when you least wanted them to cause trouble? As his thoughts turned to the time, Mirumo instinctively glanced down at his watch, letting out a minor curse when he realized that he had only fifteen minutes left.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

 _Please, no! Stupid watch, stop reminding me of the time!_

That darn ticking was going to drive him insane. Every time the second hand let out a click, Mirumo couldn't help but flinch ever so slightly at the looming deadline that was fast approaching.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

 _Argh! Stupid ticking!_ Right there and then, he made up his mind that when this was all over, he would ditch his current Fairy Watch and purchase the new digital version from Mimomo's Magic Shop. At least a digital watch wouldn't have that constant, nerve-wrecking ticking sound that was slowly driving him crazy. _Where on earth are you, Kaede!?_ He frantically flew around the different streets and districts in a bid to teach sight of his partner. _Dammit, if only there was a way to quickly contact Kaede… hey, wait a minute!_

Mirumo felt like a complete idiot. The answer was so obvious that he felt like he had been slapped in the face. Quite literally too, since he would have slapped himself in the face if his arms weren't currently preoccupied with flying. He _did_ have a way to talk to Kaede immediately. There was one easy method of communication that humans used all the time — a mobile phone.

He could easily call her using his Fairy Mobile!

Enma-sensei had given Kaede a gift upon her graduation from the Fairy School. Besides her diploma certificate in Fairy Studies, she had also received a complimentary Fairy Mobile from him. That nifty little device was a way for her to catch up with her classmates, as it was connected to the Muglox World's phone network. Hence, with her own Fairy Mobile, Kaede was conveniently able to contact any fairy.

And on the flip side, any fairy could contact her just as easily.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

 _Oh yes_ , Mirumo thought, _this definitely qualified as an emergency call._ Given the scope and nature of their talk, he would really prefer a face-to-face meeting with Kaede, but desperate times called for desperate measures. With new hope surging through his veins, he landed on the roof of a building and whipped out his Fairy Mobile from his pocket. Flipping the case open, he held down the power button.

But nothing happened. The screen remained blank. Mirumo stared at the black screen with a blank face, before the problem hit him like a truck to the face. His eyes went wide with horror.

His phone was completely flat!

He stomped his foot on the hard concrete, frantically continuing to hold down the power button in denial. Mirumo adamantly refused to believe his bad luck. Why was the battery dead? Was his phone broken? But that couldn't be! He had specially bought a shock-proof phone since he always used his butt as a form of attack. With his constant butt attacks, having a regular phone in his pocket would only end up with it in pieces. So if it wasn't broken, then why was it unable to power on? No battery power? Also inconceivable. He had always charged his Fairy Mobile overnight, so it shouldn't…

Currently feeling like the biggest fool on the whole planet, he walked across the roof to the lightning rod and started to bash his head into it repeatedly.

The previous night, he had used his Fairy Mobile to call up everyone for the meeting with his friends. All the phone calls must have been the threshold that forced the phone's battery dry. Even worse, because he had left the house so late, he arrived back at Kaede's house completely exhausted and went to sleep immediately. With a feeling of dread, Mirumo realized that he had simply forgotten to charge the phone. Pocketing his currently useless Fairy Mobile with a curse, he grimaced.

 _Just my luck! There just isn't enough time now…_

No way, he wasn't giving up that easily! He raised his left arm to his face. If his Fairy Mobile was down, he had to revert to a backup method of communication.

His Fairy Watch had a video communication feature embedded inside. With this, you could see the person on the other end of the screen on-the-fly, but the catch was that it only worked for fairies that have the specialty watch from Mimomo's Shop. Kaede was surprised seeing such advanced technology, since humans as of now were still unable to communicate using video stream calls. At the time, he'd laughed at the human's primitive technology, but now it was a curse — Mirumo was not able to contact any humans with this.

Since he couldn't contact any humans, his target now was Rirumu. Being Yuuki's fairy partner, she _had_ to know where he was at. And wherever that was, Kaede would be there with him. "Kaede! I'm coming! Just hold on!" he mumbled, furiously cursing his current predicament. The glass hologram screen on his watch went to life as the connection went through. Mirumo heaved a sigh of relief at something finally going his way. He couldn't remember the last time he was so glad to see the pink fairy. He immediately spoke before Rirumu could even utter a greeting, "Rirumu! Do you have any idea where Yuuki and Kaede are?!"

On the other end, she pondered, putting her finger to her lip. "I'm afraid I don't know, Mirumo-sama. I'm not with either Yuuki-sama or Kaede-sama right now."

 _Dammit! Of course! It was too good to be true…_

All of a sudden, Rirumu's eyes widened, as if a new thought hit her mind. "But Mirumo, why are you looking for Kaede? I thought you said—"

Mirumo flailed about, his actions interrupting her question. "No, no, no! Don't get the wrong idea, Rirumu! I was—" _crap, think of an excuse_ , "—uh, just asking to warn them! The Warumo Gang just showed up and caused me a bit of trouble, that's all!" That technically wasn't a lie. He had to prevent himself from clutching his injured left arm with his free hand. If Rirumu saw that, her protective instincts would kick in and then she'd never get off the line. He put his right hand behind his head, chuckling nervously. "I wouldn't want Kaede and Yuuki's date to be ruined by those fools, heheh! See ya, Rirumu!"

Rirumu gave a concerned look, and started to talk. "Mirumo-sama, I—"

He cut off the video transmission, making sure that she didn't finish her previous line of thought. _That was close! Rirumu must have being wondering why I'm looking for Kaede when I explicitly told her that I had nothing left to say to my partner. That girl is extremely observant at times!_ He might be willing to rescind his pride a little, but he flat out refused to tell Rirumu that he should have listened to her earlier. The last thing he needed to hear right now was "I told you so, Mirumo-sama!"

With the call finished, he lowered his watch, putting his hands back to his hips. There was no point in asking any of the other fairies. If Rirumu didn't know where Yuuki and Kaede were, then the others would have no clue whatsoever. Mirumo's body began to shake, the fairy starting to get desperate. He had to resort to gripping his clothes tightly to force himself to calm down. With a mere fifteen minutes left on the clock, he was now virtually out of options. Only one choice remained open to him. Either he risked it and painstakingly comb the city in search of Kaede… or turn back.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

Clenching his palms into a fist, he made his choice.

"Kaede, hold on!"

* * *

The stubborn fairy had flown all around town, looking for any possible place that Kaede might be at. Department stores, bookstores, benches, the usual road they took home from school, the city center _…_

Nothing. No sign of her anywhere. _Kaede, where the heck are you?_

Damn it! If he couldn't find her, he would have to head back. As a precaution, Mirumo checked his watch to clarify how much time he had left to find Kaede. Fifteen minutes to one. Yeah, he still had time to… wait a moment! F-fifteen minutes to one? 12:45p.m.?

Mirumo felt a sudden chill go through his body. Fifteen minutes to one was the time shown on his watch the last time he had checked it before he'd flown all over town! Obviously, there was no way it was still fifteen minutes to one. He peered closer at the watch. Mirumo could hear his heart rate picking up as his worst fear was confirmed. The watch might have been ticking and the screen share function still worked perfectly, but the second hand was stuck. In short, the watch had been ticking with the second hand locked in place!

 _But why would my watch suddenly be broken? I never did anything to it!_ With mounting apprehension, he realized that a memory contradicted his earlier statement. _No wait! That isn't true! Ichirou whacked my arm with his_ shamisen _!_ He had worn his watch on his left arm. When the Warumo Gang leader had hit him, the evil fairy must have accidentally hit his watch as well.

 _The blunt impact must have bent the second hand out of shape! That was why it was stuck in place!_

In other words, his watch hadn't been keeping time at all. It wasn't 12:45 at all! Panicking, Mirumo looked around. _Crap! Where can I find a clock? Ah, perhaps that diner!_ He flew down to the café and headed straight for their wall clock. Upon a look, he gasped in shock.

The actual time was one minute to one.

With a sinking heart, he realized there was no chance that he could possibly make it back to the Muglox World. He was all but doomed.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock …_

 _Please! It can't end like this!_

He looked around in a daze, praying beyond hope that he could find Kaede within the few precious seconds he had left. All he wanted to do was to say goodbye! He would even make do with a simple farewell!

 _Please…_

Only a few seconds left. Mirumo sighed, resigned. This was it.

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…_

Helpless, he could only look as the second hand of the café clock went past the number '12'.

 _Tick… tock…_

Suddenly, a bright white glow began to shine all around him. Dazzled by the sudden light, Mirumo had to squint to see clearly. Getting dizzy from the slowly-growing brightness, he looked around for the source.

 _It's coming from all around me! No wait, it's coming from within me! Sigh, it's over, isn't it, you jolly idiot Mirumo? Now Kaede will never know why you left unless one of the others actually tells her. But she won't understand. And now that I broke the law, the Gaia Tribe are going to punish me…_

His eyes widened in terror as he went over his last thought again. _Wait a moment… the Gaia Tribe… the punishment!_

With dawning horror, it suddenly occurred to Mirumo that although he had complained and ranted about the Gaia Tribe to his friends yesterday, he only told them all about the mandate. He'd never actually mentioned to any of the others about the one-hour time limit imposed immediately after the wish was granted… or about the fact that there was a subsequent punishment if a fairy didn't return in that time.

No one knew of the punishment. He didn't tell them because he had never expected to break the rule. But now that he did, his friends, his family, Kaede — no one would ever know what happened to him!

 _No, no, no! I need to tell someone, anyone! But I can't move! I'm just so tired…_

Mirumo suddenly felt very exhausted, as if the constant flying for the past half hour had just caught up to him. He tried to fly off but found himself rooted on the spot, unable to move his arms even an inch.

 _S-so tired… just let me go to sleep…_

Everything was going blurry. The light coming from within him was getting brighter and becoming unbearable. Mirumo felt his eyelids getting heavy, his vision reduced to pinpricks.

 _No wait, Kaede… oh, never mind…_

Either from the sheer exhaustion or to shield himself from the blinding white light, Mirumo found himself closed his eyes. His mind was such a complete blur that he couldn't even figure out which of the two was the reason.

 _Sweet, sweet darkness…_

The glowing Mirumo became completely white. A huge flash flared up, then as quickly as it appeared, the light completely vanished. Once it did, there was no trace of the fairy left in the café.

* * *

A whole group of fairies was gathered outside of the transfer dome in the Muglox World, all of them eagerly anticipating Mirumo's return.

Some of them more than others…

"Hah, I told ya' all! I knew that Mirumo would be the first fairy in our cohort to complete the Human Training Program!"

Mambo did not expect to be met with several judging looks.

"Mambo," Anna tried her best not to laugh, "We've all guessed that for quite a long time."

He jumped back, looking distraught at being preempted yet again. "Ack, really?"

"Trying to act smart again, Boastful Mambo? The rest of us all knew that Mirumo would be the first to succeed in the Human Partnership program for our class." Peta tried his best not to, but upon seeing his friend's embarrassed face, he couldn't resist adding the finishing touch. "You're uncool."

"Gabinnnnnnn… so uncool…"

Mambo's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Stop calling me uncool!" he yelled as he flailed his arms about.

The whole scene was reacted to with laughter by the King of the Muglox World. The lightheartedness of the teasing helped to keep his mind off other more pressing matters. "What's taking Mirumo so long? Is he trying to stall us?" Marumo thought, "Maybe he expected a surprise party and is waiting in the transfer dome to throw us off?"

The time on his watch was currently five minutes past one. He knew that the maximum limit for his son to be in the Human World was at one o'clock, so his son should have already exited the dome by now. So the question was, where was he? Anxiety crept up to Marumo's face as he continually paced about. But even the king had his limits. Finally, he snapped and whipped his head towards his right. "Daijin, let me into the dome now."

His advisor looked concerned. "Marumo-sama," Daijin said with a bow, "I thought that you wanted to surprise your eldest son Mirumo-sama? Won't going into the dome ruin the surprise?"

"I changed my mind, Daijin." The tone he spoke in was one that meant no disagreements. "Distract the children for me, please."

"As you wish, sir," Daijin whispered back, before raising his voice for an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please!"

 _Good, the distraction was set!_

When everyone was looking at Daijin, Marumo slowly crept up to the entrance of the transfer dome. As quietly as he could, he slipped in without anyone noticing. Walking down the stairs, he slowly crept into the main hall of the transfer dome, the point of travel between the Human and Muglox Worlds. In this odd, cold, empty chamber lay dozens, no, hundreds of mugs in various colors, each mug for a different fairy. Looking across the room, Marumo's eyes hunted for his son. Where was Mirumo hiding? Just what was he up to?

 _Wait one moment…_

His eyes were suddenly drawn to a conspicuous empty space. All the mugs were lined up neatly in rows, so it was extremely obvious when a mug was missing from somewhere it should have been. Walking closer, he suddenly recognized the spot with concern. That empty space was exactly where Mirumo's mug was located. He had remembered the location since the mug had been placed there quite over-enthusiastically by his wife Saria. She had said that mugs of their family members, and Rirumu's—being Mirumo's future consort—should be placed together.

Hence, between where Rirumu's pink and Murumo's purple mugs was supposed to be where Mirumo's mug was located. But it had completely vanished into thin air, there now being merely a blank space where the dark blue mug should have been.

Where was his son's mug? And where was Mirumo? Marumo clutched his crown in fear when a terrifying thought took hold within his mind. _No, wait, it couldn't be! He couldn't have!_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 28/6/2018._

So we're now finally getting somewhere! Dun-dun-dun!

It has always kind of bothered me that Mirumo never thought to contact Kaede using his Fairy Mobile in Episode 171. Come on, he's thought to do so multiple times before in situations that were considered much less dire!

This chapter signifies the key idea of this story that I envisioned from the very start. Just what would happen if the Season 4 finale wasn't as rushed as it was and there were much harsher consequences?


	7. Judge and Jury

**Chapter 7: Judge and Jury**

"No way, Kaede! Are you being serious?"

The red-haired tomboy couldn't believe what she had just heard. Her soft-spoken friend Kaede, confessing to her longtime crush, Yuuki Setsu? That was virtually unthinkable and so unlike her friend that she checked out of the window to ensure that she was still in reality and that pigs weren't flying right now. After she'd confirmed that, she then put her phone to her ear again to clarify that she had heard the previous statement correctly and wasn't just imagining things.

"Yes, Etsumi!" she heard her friend squeal. "As of a while ago, Yuuki-kun and I are officially a couple!"

Etsumi had to clamp her mouth shut to hold back a huge squeal of joy. "This is so great, Kaede! After all the years that you've pined for him, the two of you have finally got together!"

"Etsumi, calm down! It's just—"

"Kaede, it's not _just_ official!" Etsumi was literally pulling her hair out at her friend's attempt to downplay _this,_ of all things. How was Kaede even able to act so calm? "This is like, everything that you've always wanted ever since you were in first grade of middle school! Come on, Kaede! There's no need to be so humble! You did it! We'll mark this day down forever! September 20th, 2005, the day the two of you lovebirds finally took flight! Woo!"

"Uh, Etsumi…" came a sheepish voice from the phone speaker.

"Just imagine it, Kaede! This is like a romance movie where the girl finally gets the guy after pining for him the entire film! She overcomes any and every obstacle the world throws in her way, like aliens trying to take over the world, in order to be able to live happily ever after with her boyfriend at the finale!"

There was a silence so awkward after she'd finished speaking that you could literally hear a pin drop. "Etsumi…" Kaede finally mumbled, "Exactly _what_ movie did you watch?"

 _Whoops… guess I sidetracked a little there, huh?_ "Ahem, s-s-sorry!" Etsumi stuttered in embarrassment. "Now, what I really want to know is how on Earth you managed to get the guts to confess to Yuuki-kun?"

"Um… actually, to be perfectly honest with you, he confessed to me."

Oh. Well, _that_ answered about a good eighty percent of her questions. But even with that revelation, Etsumi continued to have a goofy smirk plastered on her face. Yuuki being the instigator still didn't answer all of her questions. "Kaede, tell me everything from beginning to end. After falling for Yuuki-kun for ages on end, just how did you manage to get him to reciprocate your feelings?"

"Uhhhhhh…" Kaede started, elongating the word in an effort to buy time.

However, unfortunately for her, the stalling trick didn't work on her best friend. "Don't need to be shy! Just tell me everything, Kaede! Make sure not to spare me a single detail!" Etsumi all but yelled into the phone mouthpiece. It was certainly too bad for Kaede that Etsumi didn't care about her phone bill, because the tomboy was definitely going to be on the line for quite a while!

* * *

Deep within the Muglox World, there existed a sacred haven hidden behind an elaborate network of caves. This land was known as the Gaian Village, which consisted of five palaces. This was the place where the five most powerful fairies in existence lived. Those fairies were of course, the Gaia Tribe.

Each Gaian lived in one of the five elemental-themed palace, spread out in a pentagram formation to signify the balance they held between the elements. In the very middle of the clearing, there was a shrine underneath a sacred tree. This sacred tree was the capital of the Gaia Tribe's village, and the main gathering point for all of them to meet if necessary.

At this very moment, the five worried fairies were gathered at the marble shrine to discuss a matter that was of great importance. It wasn't often that the Gaia Tribe members found themselves coming into an argument. The last time they had gotten into a serious argument, it had almost overrun the Muglox World. Ever since then, the group have been very cautious to avoid another debacle.

And yet…

"You know Fia, you really should have anticipated this. After all, you're the stubborn one." Aqua taunted, his lips curled slightly upwards into a tiny smirk. If he calculated it just about right, Fia would scream at him right about…

"Gah! I might be stubborn, Aqua, but I'm not stupid! Not unlike this fairy, who… argh! He's an idiot!" Fia threw his arms out.

…right about now. Aqua chortled to himself. Too predictable!

Donta spared the two bickering fairies a glance. "Who's an idiot?" he asked in a flat tone.

Fia, insulted by the question, quickly barked back, "You know the one… Mirumo, that fairy with the blue hat!"

"There were two fairies that had come here dressed in blue, Fia," Win teased. "Which one are you talking about?"

"GRAH! The one with golden-blonde hair! Come on! How can all of you not remember who Mirumo is?!" Fia yelled, his volume getting close to a scream.

Aqua snickered to himself. Fia was so wrapped up in his anger that he didn't realize that the rest of the group were all collectively messing with him. After all, they all knew who Mirumo was perfectly well. As a matter of fact, they were all rather acquainted with him. Which of course, made this meeting's agenda that much harder for the five Gaia Tribe members.

"Anyway, rules are rules!" Fia turned back to Aqua, "You all know why we enforced this rule, don't you?! So tell me, why should we make an exception for this fairy in particular?"

"Let's not get too hasty, Fia. Mirumo has done much for us. Do you remember the whole Dark incident?" Aqua calmly tried to reason with the raging fairy.

"And that incident is exactly why we can't let him off! When we cut off both worlds, he refused to leave his partner! And now we have a repeat of that incident, even when he explicitly knows that we are obligated to punish him if he isn't in the Fairy World within that sixty-minute grace period!"

"You shouldn't be surprised, Fia." Donta appeared to be bored, as if what he was saying should be common knowledge to the rest of them. "Do you remember what happened when we first met that human?"

"I'm still upset about that! They cheated in my trial!" Win huffed and looked away.

 _Oh no!_ Aqua began to get tense. _The others are going to bring up Mirumo and Kaede's bond together! All it'll take is one false word here and this whole debate would…_

The problem the Gaians were facing was that this was the first time that a fairy had ever broken this specific rule. There was no precedence for this case, so they all had no real idea on how to approach this scenario. What made this even more complex was that the fairy in question happened to be the Crown Prince, Mirumo.

Aqua raised his hand. "Still, the Mic Trials proved that the two's compatibility are genuine."

"That's my point! We all know those two are inseparable! It's probably why he broke the rule!"

 _Uh oh…_ Aqua glanced at Fia with a shiver. "Bu-but those two topics are completely unrelated!" he justified, trying to regain control of the debate.

"Oh, shut up! There are no exceptions! Aren't we supposed to be impartial? Just hand Mirumo his punishment and get this whole mess over with!" Fia shot a glare to Aqua, before adding one final remark, "Simple, harsh, and effective! I see no problem with this solution!"

Pikumu spoke up to save Aqua from the ranting Fia. "But not all of us are in favor of this. By our own rules, if we are not unanimous in agreement, we do not proceed until all five of us are convinced on the best approach." She looked around at the other four males, "But since none of us can agree on this unanimously, let's put it to a vote then! After all, there are five of us, so there is no need to worry about any tiebreakers."

Aqua heaved a sigh in relief. Finally, a rational decision was made amidst all of the chaos.

"Yahoo, I agree!" Win cheered, doing an aerial loop-de-loop as he was floating. "I enjoy voting, they are a _breeze_!" he continued, making sure to exaggerate the word.

There was a collective sigh from the remaining four in the vicinity at the pun. A furious Fia's hair started to go wild at Win's carefree attitude. "Make one more wind pun again, Win! I dare you, you smug little—"

"Hush! Don't get distracted!" Aqua cut in before Fia could derail the entire conversation to the Wind Fairy's habit of making puns.

"But Win does have a point, Fia." Pikumu remarked to the still-fuming Fia. "Right now, this argument is getting us nowhere! We cannot act like spoiled little children. We have to make our stand and vote carefully. If we make a wrong choice now…"

Donta finished everyone's thoughts, completely blunt and to the point. "If we choose poorly, it will not end well. There will be dire consequences for everyone."

Like a group of poker players, the Gaia Tribe members kept their faces neutral, hiding their personal feelings and thoughts about the matter from the others. That is of course, except for Fia. He absolutely could not pull off a poker face, still mumbling under his breath about 'a blue idiot'. As such, the remaining four Gaians pretty much already knew his stance on the debate.

 _Alright, so it's come down to a vote, eh? Well, Fia definitely wants Mirumo out without a doubt,_ Aqua thought. _So that's one vote locked down. I already know my stand, so I just need to convince two more. We need at least three against two to win this argument. Let's hope for the best!_ He stood forward, coughing into his hand to get everyone's attention. "Now that the formalities and details of the situation are out of the way, let us all began, shall we?"

"Get this over with already!"

"I agree. Let us not waste time."

"Yahoo!"

"Sure thing, Aqua."

Unknown to Aqua and the rest of the Gaia Tribe, just like another spontaneous meeting held by a separate group of fairies barely half a day ago in the Human World, the next few moments would end up having massive repercussions for all involved.

"Let us discuss the matter at hand now." He looked up at the others with firm blue eyes. "Just should we do with Mirumo?"

* * *

"Murumo! What should I do now? Minami-san, she, she…"

Murumo almost scoffed at his partner's whining, but chose to let out a sigh instead. Matsutake wasn't in the best of moods today. No surprise there, honestly. His human partner had been placed in the friend zone, a truly chilling and daunting prospect of any male's life.

Murumo chewed on his marshmallows while looking at Matsutake sobbing his face out. The fairy had neglected to tell him about Kaede and Yuuki hooking up solely because of this reason. Murumo knew that the moment Matsutake-san found out, he would be broken-hearted. As such, he didn't have really the heart to break it to Matsutake directly. But in the end, Murumo had brought him along to the park anyway. It wasn't like he could hide the truth from him forever.

It was truly the irony of ironies. Despite being possibly the most sought-after boy in the entire school, his heart solely belonged to Minami Kaede. Truly, it was unfortunate for him that Kaede didn't harbor any romantic feelings for him. Even Koichi stood a better chance in ending up with her than he ever did.

"Wahhhhh, Hirai!"

"Obocchama!"

 _Looks like he's calling for his butler again. So predictable, Matsutake-san_ , Murumo chortled. This was the reason why Murumo loved his partner. Kepapa hadn't been lying when it had said that he and Kaoru were perfectly compatible. Despite his first impression and initial misgivings of the boy, Kaoru had indeed ended up being the best human partner he could have possibly hoped for.

But right now, Matsutake was so upset that even Murumo himself couldn't help but feel down as well. Now the question was: how was he going to help the spoiled boy get over his loss with Kaede? It was certainly a tricky dilemma. Perhaps he could somehow convince him to start over and be with Momo? Gah, but the drawback to that was it would mean living with Yamane. That would be an issue as the Fairy Ninja was crazy around sugar. Too crazy.

 _Beep-beep!_

Murumo yelped, startled by the beeping noise coming from his Fairy Watch. Someone was trying to contact him. His face turned dark as he recovered. What an annoyance! "I'll have to remember to change my ringtone on this watch. It won't look cute for me to get so worked up over an incoming call," he muttered as he accepted the video call.

"Murumo!"

His eyes widened in surprise at the gruff voice. What do you know… it was his father on the line! Murumo immediately switched back to his charming face. "Otou-sama! What is it?" he chirped.

Marumo heaved a sigh, appearing extremely relieved to see Murumo. "Oh, thank goodness, you actually picked up." He coughed into his palm, "Murumo, by any chance would you happen to know where Mirumo is?"

 _Huh? Why on earth would otou-sama be looking for Mirumo? Just what exactly did he do this time? He couldn't possibly have messed things up so quickly after returning to the Muglox World… could he?_

"I don't know, otou-sama," he shrugged. "To be honest, onii-sama's probably with Kaede-san."

"Mirumo can't be with Kaede-san!" Marumo slammed his staff down on the floor. "He can't!"

Murumo inquisitively tilted his head. "Whyever not, otou-sama?"

"That's because… ah, never mind about that." In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, his father's eyes suddenly widened, his words trailing off. However, the subtle flinch from Marumo wasn't missed by his crafty son.

 _Gotcha there, otou-sama,_ Murumo hid a smug grin. _Otou-sama really did know about the Gaia Tribe's rule! That had to be why he cut his sentence short. He was going to say why onii-sama must be at the Muglox World, but must have suddenly remembered that I should not know about the reason. Hmph! That pompous, lousy coot!_

Murumo folded his arms in irritation as anger simmered within him, almost letting his usual cute mask slip. _How dare otou-sama keep something like this from me and onii-sama!_ He really wanted to let his father have a piece of his mind. But that would mean blowing his cover, and like it or not, he had made a promise to Mirumo not to breathe a word about the Gaia Tribe mandate.

There was a cough from the watch transmission, as Marumo struggled to divert his son's attention to a different topic. "Anyway! You, uh… you really don't know? Because the thing is, Mirumo still isn't here yet!"

"I really have no clue where he is, otou-sama! Onii-sama's probably off celebrating or something!" he shrugged, venturing a guess. "Why are you so frantic to have onii-sama come back to the Muglox World anyway?" Murumo made sure to be very careful with his words. He had asked that question to make it appear as though he didn't know about the Gaia Tribe's rule. After all, if Mirumo-oniisama had never told him, he would have known nothing of it.

Marumo looked uncomfortable hearing those words. "Ne-Never mind about that, Murumo!" he stuttered.

He put on a pouting face. "Otou-sama, are you hiding something from me?" he questioned, eyes boring into the screen. On the other end, Marumo started to fidget. Murumo had to suppress a grin seeing his father squirm. It wasn't often that he could make his carefree dad panic like this!

"I'll tell you later!" Marumo's face turned firm again. "Right now, I just want to double check what you told me in the morning. When I called earlier, you said that Mirumo will grant his partner's wish at noon today, right?"

Murumo was beginning to feel uneasy again. "Yeah, that's correct."

"Did the timing change? Was the wish granted at twelve!?" Marumo asked. There was an edge to his voice. Although it was the exact same question that he'd posed a few hours ago, this time it seemed to hold a new weight to it.

 _Is that worry I sense in otou-sama's voice?_ Murumo raised an eyebrow before he answered, "Yeah, it was. I was there myself when it happened. There's a big clock in the park, so of course it was twelve! Right on the dot!"

"Oh, okay. I see…" Marumo's voice just barely cracked for a second, "Thank you." Abruptly, the video transmission ended.

Murumo held his hand to his chin in thought. Why would his father want Mirumo back to the Muglox World so much? Was he that much of a stickler for the rules? But then again, why did Marumo sound so frantic? It wasn't as if Mirumo-oniisama would break that rule. He had pretty much assured everyone at the park meeting that he would quietly go back to the Muglox World. So why would…

Murumo suddenly froze in his thoughts.

 _Don't tell me that onii-sama went back on his word?!_

Shaking his head deftly, Murumo raised his arm again and tried to contact Mirumo on his Fairy Watch. He was going to need answers from his brother, right this moment. A flat dial tone signaling that Mirumo was not available was the only response that he got.

 _Oh, come on! Why won't onii-sama answer?_

Giving up on a video transmission, he picked up his Fairy Mobile and dialled Mirumo's phone number instead.

 _Beep!_

 _Straight to voicemail!_ Murumo clenched the phone in his palm. _Dang, that idiot must have switched off his phone! Now I have no way to contact him! Where the heck are you? Surely you're fine, onii-sama? You went back to the Muglox World, right?_

Then again, it was Mirumo. He was a rebellious, stubborn brat. Knowing his brother's personality, Murumo had a bad feeling about this. _Who was the last person to have contact with Mirumo,_ he wondered, trying to fight down his panic.

 _It's Rirumu-san!_

"Matsutake-san! I'm off for a while! I need to go somewhere urgently! Bye!"

Even in his current state of distraught, Kaoru was able to sense that something did not fit right with what his partner had just said. "Wait, Murumo!"

However, by the time Kaoru turned around to look at the table of marshmallows where Murumo had been, his partner was already gone.

* * *

"I've already made my stand, so I'm not repeating it!"

"You're just stubborn, Fia!" Aqua chuckled. "All right, you all can also guess my stand based on my argument with Fia earlier, can't you? So who would like to give their views next?"

Win flailed his arms wildly around. "Me, me, me! Pick me! Pick me!"

Aqua grinned. "Donta should go next." he pointed at the Earth Fairy, deliberately skipping over Win.

"Awwwwwwwwww!" Win whined at the Water Fairy, "Aqua, you meanie."

"Lighten up, Win!" Aqua jovially smiled at the sulking fairy, "Anyway, don't take this too seriously, Donta. Just relax and state your stand!"

Seeing all eyes on him, Donta started to speak, "Well, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I personally agree with Fia."

Aqua's eyes widened in surprise. This was mildly unexpected.

"He does have a point. Mirumo deliberately went against our rules. And he's next in line to the throne. As someone who would rule the Muglox World as its king one day, such reckless behavior cannot be forgiven that easily." Donta shook his head. "Believe me, I do not wish to do this. I am personally rather fond for him myself, but the thing is that we also can't take this too lightly."

"Wow," Win stared at the Earth Fairy. "I think that is the longest that I've heard Donta speak for a long time." He floated around, moving to the center of the shrine. "Anyway, it's my turn!"

"But Win, I never said it was your turn—"

Win continued to speak, acting as though he hadn't heard Aqua, "I think we should let just him go though. Mirumo has saved our hide before. Maybe we can close one eye, just this once?"

Fia raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you just complaining about the two of them cheating in your trial?"

"Fia!" Aqua scolded. "Don't go off the topic! It's Win's decision!" He glanced around the group with a smile on his face. It appeared that at the moment, the vote was tied, two for two.

"Oh, my!" Pikumu softly laughed, looking around. "It looks like I'm the tiebreaker vote. How stressful!"

"There's no need to fret," Donta mumbled. "Just pick without any bias. Don't let anyone influence you, Pikumu." As he said that, he kept his eye on both Aqua and Fia, causing Aqua to look away sheepishly. On the other hand, Fia just didn't care.

Although he was slightly ashamed at getting caught out, Aqua couldn't help but clasp his palms together in excitement. _This should be good,_ he thought as he glanced towards the pondering fairy. _Pikumu is the nice one, so she would almost certainly let Mirumo off the hook._ He glanced to his left, making eye contact with Fia. Just from that one single glance, Aqua could see the fury in Fia's eyes. It was quite evident to him that the agitated fairy must have come to the same conclusion as he did.

"Hm…" Pikumu began, her eyes deep in thought. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally made her choice. "After much consideration, I think that we should… punish Mirumo."

 _What?_ Aqua's jaw dropped at her answer. He continued to blink his eyes in disbelief. _Did Pikumu really just…?_

He wasn't the only one who was stunned by Pikumu's response. "What!?" Fia shouted, his hair flaring up. It looked as though he didn't believe what he was hearing either.

"Oh, please let me explain." She held up a hand to calm the others from freaking out. "You see, I am in agreement with everyone here. Both Aqua and Win are fighting for leniency, and in a normal situation I would certainly grant him leeway given everything that Mirumo has done to help us," she explained. "However, in this case, Donta and Fia are absolutely right. We cannot let Mirumo cross this line and get away with it with a slap on the wrist. Letting him off scot-free would undermine our authority as the Gaia Tribe."

Fia pumped his fist up into the air. "Yes, that's absolutely right! We as the Gaia Tribe have always operated based on a hands-off system. The monarchy, or should I say, the royal family, takes control of most affairs. We just handle all the important stuff like magic! Fairies know about us from folklore and hence worship us! Can you imagine what would happen if word got out that the Muglox King refused to take orders from the Gaia Tribe?" he asked, looking at the others one by one. "No one in the Muglox World would take us seriously anymore!"

"Besides, Aqua…" Pikumu began in a tone that caused the Water Fairy to wince. He didn't have a good feeling at being singled out. "Yes? What is it?" he tentatively prodded.

"Don't play dumb." Pikumu looked at him with teasing eyes. "You know as I do the reason that this rule was drafted up. This happens to be a prime example of why we made the rule to begin with, isn't it?"

Aqua cursed in his heart. Pikumu had actually remembered the reason they made the rule! Since it applied completely for a situation like this, the whole thing was pretty much over once she brought it up.

"Anyhow, it appears that the final tally is three for and two against. I'm sorry, Aqua, Win, but it looks like we are going ahead."

"Don't be sorry! I don't blame you, Pikumu." Aqua gently replied. He turned to the group, bowing slightly. "You've all made good points regarding this. I concede."

Win landed on the ground, quite a rarity for the airborne fairy. "As do I! That debate was fun while it lasted…"

"Good! Now let's get Mirumo's punishment proceedings started already!"

Aqua looked away at Fia's snide taunt with a small puff. The tables had turned on the Water Fairy quite unexpectedly. He hadn't expected the meeting to end in victory for Fia. And if he was to be honest, Aqua felt that Fia hadn't expected to win either.

"So now that we are unanimous," Fia raised his arm to catch the attention of everyone in the shrine, "Let's talk about Mirumo's punishment! I personally think that we should…"

Aqua continued listening to Fia's rant, keeping his usual smile up on the outside. But on the inside, his heart was filled with sorrow.

 _I'm so sorry, Mirumo! I honestly tried my very best to save you for Kaede's sake! But it looks like now, we have no choice but to follow through._ _I just hope that you and Kaede can find it in your hearts to forgive us…_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 6/7/2018._

The fabled Gaia Tribe finally makes their grand appearance! Thus, we are officially out of canon territory as of now!


	8. Memories of Mic

**Chapter 8: Memories of Mic**

"…and that's how it all happened, Etsumi!"

Kaede was beginning to suspect that her best friend was beginning to regret her choice of words, especially since those words had led to the two of them being on the phone for the past hour or so.

 _Nah_ , Kaede shook her head. _It's Etsumi we're talking about here. She wouldn't care about her phone bill for a chance to talk with me! Plus, it's been quite a while since I last chatted with Etsumi like this! We have so much to catch up on!_

After being rather forcefully persuaded by Etsumi, Kaede had told her best friend everything that had happened over the past few months on her phone. Of course, 'everything' meant all the perfectly normal things, with her leaving out quite a few details. It went without saying that she had to be careful to leave out any mention of love fairies. There was no way that she could explain _anything_ Muglox related to her.

 _Try explaining this! An invisible love fairy, or Muglox, stays in your house and grants your wishes with fairy magic._ If Kaede even tried, Etsumi would stare at her like she was crazy. The disbelief on her face would be priceless if they were actually talking in person.

There was no way that Etsumi would buy any of it. This was the 21st century, not some contemporary fairy tale!

" _This is like a romance movie where the girl finally gets the guy after pining for him the entire film! She overcomes any and every obstacle the world throws in her way, like aliens trying to take over the world, in order to be able to live happily ever after with her boyfriend at the finale!"_

Etsumi had no idea just how right she was…

Her whole life might as well _be_ a movie. So much chaos had happened to her ever since Mirumo had become her fairy partner. When she had actually recounted to Etsumi about the story of her life during previous year without Mirumo and the others, it all seemed so… empty.

 _Oh, just a few classes. Also, I got the courage to talk to Yuuki-kun more because of Rirum-I mean, Morishita-san! And oh, there's this new guy in my class called Sumita-kun!_

Basically, just a perfectly normal life of a Japanese middle-school student…

"Oi, Minami."

Kaede embarrassingly squeaked, looking across the table to see that Setsu had just mouthed her name with a cheeky grin on his face. "Don't you think that's a bit of an under-exaggeration of everything that we've gone through?" he whispered in a voice that was not loud enough for Etsumi to pick up on the other end of the phone.

 _Yeah_ , she pondered. The recount of the last year of her life had went was actually really generic without the mention of any fairies. Without them, it was almost like the life of a regular schoolgirl. Just how much had she been through ever since she met that stubborn love fairy, Mirumo? There were so many things that came to her mind. So many fun times, so much chaos, and so many obstacles…

As she thought back to the past, one particular incident of note immediately sprang to the forefront of Kaede's mind.

" _That is the Dark Magic Crystal! Just one glance and you will fall under the influence of whoever owns it!"_

Looking back, although they were mostly a joke now, the Warumo Gang's very first appearance had been a huge wake-up call to Kaede about the dangers and stakes that having a fairy partner would entail. Before this, sure, there had been some unfortunate situations that she had been put through, usually involving the duo of Hidaka-san and Yashichi trying to impede her love progress with Yuuki-kun. But in the end, it was all harmless fun with Mirumo's help.

As a result, nothing, _nothing_ had prepared her for a situation like what had happened on that day itself.

* * *

 **Close to a year ago…**

"Kaede!" Mirumo shouted, slamming straight into Kaede's face.

"Mirumo!" she winced, before turning to her fallen fairy partner on the ground. "That hurt!"

"Gah, I'm sorry!" he apologized before his voice turned serious. "Listen to me! Don't look at the thing that Azumi's holding! That is the Dark Magic Crystal! Just one glance and you will fall under the influence of whoever owns it!"

 _Fall under the influence of whoever owns it?!_

She immediately averted her eyes from Azumi, thanking her lucky stars that Mirumo's surprise attack had managed to take her attention away from that accursed object.

"Hidaka-san!" she yelled. Kaede didn't even try to disguise the fury in her voice. "Why are you doing this? Is this Yashichi's doing again?" Because if it was, that was certainly a low blow, even for her usual standards. Still, Kaede didn't put it past Hidaka-san to try something funny again. After all, the clingy girl had previously used Yashichi's magic to her advantage multiple times before to try and break Yuuki-kun and her apart.

"This isn't Yashichi, Kaede!" Mirumo yelled. "The Dark Magic Crystal is made from pure darkness itself. Only someone skilled in black magic can create it!"

Well, speak of the devil and they shall appear. Immediately after Mirumo had finished, a gruff voice cut in from behind the duo, "Tsk tsk, Prince Mirumo. Trust you to get in our way yet again."

She and Mirumo turned to the parapet to look for the source of the voice. Five caped black figures stared down at them.

 _Wait, weren't they…_

"Aren't you the Warumo Gang?" she asked, looking warily at the one with the number '1' etched in red on the cloak around his forehead. _That's their leader, isn't it_ , Kaede recalled. If she remembered right, the last time they met, Mirumo had said that his name was Ichirou. How fitting it was that 'ichi', the Japanese name for one was in his name.

"I'm flattered that you remember us, human," Ichirou spoke, before focusing his attention to her partner. "Prince Mirumo! We have returned for a rematch!"

Seeing Ichirou's enthusiasm, Mirumo gave a bored look. "So you've come back for another beating, just like the one I handed you yesterday?" he said dismissively in the cockiest tone that he could muster up.

"On the contrary…" Ichirou brought up his hand and snapped his fingers. Right on cue, two new fairies appeared from behind the five cloaked members.

"I've come to give you an engagement present, Mirumo-sama. A violent one!"

"Onii-sama! I'm going to get you now, you lousy excuse of a big brother!"

"Huh?!" Both human and fairy couldn't keep the squeaks of disbelief out of their voices. _Rirumu-chan and Murumo-san,_ Kaede thought with shock _. But why would they be with the Warumo Gang?! Hold on, what's with that black mark on their forehead…_

" _Oh, that reverse black star? That is the symbol of black magic. Black magic is harnessed from darkness incarnate, and taints all who use it with a symbol on their head."_

That was what Mirumo had told her after she had asked about the Warumo Gang's logo. But why would it be on them?

" _Just one glance and you will fall under the influence of whoever owns it!"_

 _Oh, don't tell me…_ Her mind thought with rising despair.

"Ichirou!" Mirumo pointed an angered finger at the Warumo Gang leader. "You utter scumbag!" Judging by the outrage in his voice, Kaede realized that they had reached the same conclusion.

Both Murumo and Rirumu had to be brainwashed!

"Gahahahha! Your deduction is correct." The smug Ichirou proceeded to give a signal, and like a toy listening to a remote control, both Rirumu and Murumo stepped forward to surround Mirumo in an arc formation. Seeing the fairies obey him, Ichirou couldn't resist a smirk. "What irony, Prince Mirumo! It appears that you will be defeated by your very own friends and family!"

"Your very own friends and family!" came a chorus from the remaining Warumo Gang members.

Kaede shook her head in denial. _What? No! This can't be happening! Rirumu-chan and Murumo-chan had to be okay! They can't be…_

"Rirumu-chan! Murumo-chan!" she cried, "Snap out of it!"

"It's not going to work, Kaede!" Mirumo hissed at her, keeping his eye on Rirumu and Murumo. "They are both completely under the crystal's influence!"

"H-how could you do something like this?!" Kaede asked, directing her attention to the Warumo Gang.

"Because we're evil, of course!"

Kaede gaped at their response. Well, that certainly wasn't a very informative answer to her question at all!

Meanwhile, Mirumo stared at both Rirumu and Murumo. They both had looks of pure hate in their faces, their current expressions being nothing similar to the two fairies who he knew. "That's not fair! You can't make me fight them!" He sounded desperate, as though he didn't expect the Warumo Gang to resort to such extremes.

Ichirou waved his hand dismissively. "We're the bad guys. We don't have to play by the rules!"

"Please!" Kaede begged with a quiver in her voice. "Please leave Rirumu-chan and Murumo-chan out of this…"

"Not a chance, human girl. This is our chance to finally win!" Seeing that he had the upper hand, Ichirou cocked his head triumphantly. "This time you'll be the one beaten up, Mirumo! Now! Get the Muglox Prince!"

The two hypnotised fairies immediately targeted Mirumo down with their magic, not wasting any time in following the Warumo Gang's orders.

"Rirumu de Pon!"

"Murumo de Pon!"

* * *

She cringed at that memory. That incident had taught her one very valuable lesson. Despite the fact that Muglox Fairies were omnipotent wish granting beings, they were not invincible. At all. With Mirumo's current skill level at that point, he couldn't take on both his fiancée and younger brother's magic simultaneously. To put it bluntly, he was quite unceremoniously defeated.

Thinking back, Kaede realized that it was kind of her fault. At the very end, Rirumu and Murumo had targeted her instead, and while Mirumo had protected her from the shots, he did so at the cost of taking direct hits. Despite appearing like a selfish brat on the surface, Mirumo certainly had a heart when it counted.

Kaede looked down with shame. To this very day, she could still remember cradling Mirumo's injured unconscious body in her hand and running off the school roof, sprinting away from the laughing Warumo Gang with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

What a wake-up call indeed!

Up to that point, she had assumed that all the Muglox were firmly on the side of righteousness and good. And why would they not be? Rirumu and Murumo's personalities had pretty much set up and sealed that impression of the Muglox Fairies. Mirumo himself might be stubborn and bratty, but that was just an attitude problem, and she'd assumed that it was simply an isolated case.

Besides Yashichi, who was really more mischievous than anything, she had never actually seen an evil fairy armed with the power of magic until she had met the Warumo Gang. At first, when Mirumo had beaten them with even less trouble than he had with Yashichi, she had thought that they were simply a bunch of bullies.

The Dark Magic Crystal proved her very wrong. Not only could fairies be evil, but with magic on their side, they can be quite competent at their jobs as well. There was no better example there than Akumi until she had repented and changed her ways. But before Akumi, Rat, and Dark, the Warumo Gang was her first taste of such cruelty.

Since no normal human could see them, the devastation that could be caused by evil fairies truly was terrifying. This also meant that she and her friends, being the only ones who can see the troublemakers, were usually the ones who had to stop their havoc. Such responsibility was the price to pay for having a fairy prince as her partner. Her life would be full of adventure, whether she wanted it or not.

Before the Time Gem, the whole affair with Saori and Dark, and the Crystal Land war between both factions, the Dark Magic Crystal was her first foray into being dragged into constant chaos.

And yet, in an ironic way, the Warumo Gang's Dark Magic Crystal had also been responsible for her getting closer to Mirumo. Determined to get stronger to defeat the Warumos, Mirumo had asked Mimomo the shopkeeper for help and was given instructions to find the legendary musical instrument, the Mic.

Getting the Mic was one of the most surreal moments of her life. It was something Kaede could never forget.

* * *

 **A few hours after the Warumo Incident…**

Kaede was not having a good day. After finding their way through a complex cave system of monsters, she and Mirumo had finally made it to the legendary Gaia Tribe themselves. All they had to do was ask for the Mic to defeat the Warumo Gang. Easy, right?

Oh, how wrong they were. The Gaia Tribe weren't so willing to give up their precious instrument so easily and had thus demanded for an offering at the shrine under the sacred tree.

The first obvious problem to their predicament was that the Gaians weren't going to explicitly say what the offering was.

The second was that to get hints as to what the shrine offering was supposed to be, they needed to pass trials set by the Gaia Tribe members themselves.

The third was that the trials set by the Gaians were frankly ridiculous. From baking potatoes, to digging a trench, and even chasing the Fairy of Wind in a game of tag. To further aggravate the issue, not a single one of their trials had been easy. She and Mirumo were flat out exhausted by the end after they'd finally completed all the trials, with the trials themselves wasting a ton of precious time that they once had in the process.

The last, and perhaps also the biggest problem, was that despite now having all five hints in their hands, they still had no clue as to what the offering was supposed to be!

But could you blame them? The hints were all a bunch of oxymorons! Every time she ventured a guess that seemed as though it would solve the riddle, another one of the hints would contradict her theory. Hot as fire but reflective like water at the same time? Soft as soil, yet flows like the wind, and also as volatile as clouds? This seemed like a riddle that belonged as a million-dollar prize question on a game show.

"Ahhhh!" Kaede groaned as she racked her mind for the answer. "They're just saying all of these hints because it's the Gaia Tribe members own attributes! Fire, water, earth, wind, and clouds! Mirumo!" she grumbled, looking at her partner. "You see it too, right? They're messing with us! I can't think of a single thing that fits all those criteria!"

The fairy was folding his arms, staring at the middle of the shrine in contempt. "If they don't want to give the Mic to us, they should at least tell us straight out instead of making us do those stupid trials!"

"Mirumo, don't insult them!" she admonished, even though she did feel the same way in her heart.

"Kaede," Mirumo stretched his arms up in mental exhaustion, "Admit it. You can't think of anything either."

The worst part was that Mirumo was absolutely right. Kaede was absolutely stumped. There wasn't a single guess she could make.

At her distraught face, Mirumo walked up to his partner, putting his hand on her shoulders. "There's no time left, Kaede. We have to go."

 _No time left_. Those chilling words continued to echo in her mind. Being a prince, Mirumo was able to allow her access to the Muglox World, the fairies' home. Only members of the Royal Family could cast the Human Transformation spell, which temporarily gives humans a fairy form.

However, the spell has one drawback. There was a hard twenty-four-hour limit imposed on her transformation. If she remained for any longer than that, she would be stuck in the Muglox World forever.

One day was all she had, and out of those twenty-four hours, twenty-three of them were already gone. Now, she only had a mere hour left…

But if she gave up now, then all her friends would continue to be under the Warumo Gang's control. Her eyes turned misty at the thought.

"No." She shook her head in denial, making up her mind right there and then. "I'm not going back until it's ours!"

Mirumo glanced down at his Fairy Watch, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "What for? Are you even listening to me, Kaede? I'm giving up on the Mic! We don't need to get it from those stubborn Gaia Tribe members! I'll get stronger on my own and beat the Warumo Gang without their help!"

"Mirumo!" she snarled at her partner's suggestion. "We're going to figure out this riddle!"

Realizing Kaede was adamant about staying, he started getting frantic. "Oi, Kaede! Don't sacrifice your life for this! If you stay here for any longer, you can never return to the Human World! Use your head, Kaede! Don't make a decision like this out of pure recklessness!"

For Kaede, it was truly a sadistic choice. Either she stayed here for the next one hour to solve the puzzle and run the very real risk of being unable to return…

…or she takes Mirumo's advice. Return to the Human World without the power of the Mic and let Mirumo train for stronger magic at the cost of more time.

But if she did that, then how long would her friends continue to be under the Warumo Gang's mind control? By the time Mirumo got stronger, the Warumo Gang would have definitely brainwashed even more people.

Numbers weren't on Mirumo's sides. Already he couldn't beat Rirumu and Murumo, who together amounted to a grand total of just _two_ fairies. What if the Warumos got even more fairies on their side?

She remembered the Mirumo Tribe members she met earlier in the day. All of Mirumo's friends — Peta-san, Bike-san, Gabin-san, Mambo-san, Anna-chan…

Nothing was stopping the Warumo Gang from waltzing into the village and letting loose their artifact of doom there. What if they all of Mirumo's friends ended up being brainwashed too? Was Mirumo even able to win against such power? Would her friends Rirumu-chan and Murumo-chan ever be free?

At the thought of it all, Kaede started to sob. Seeing her cry, Mirumo tilted his head. "Kaede?"

Mirumo was wrong… he had to be! This _was_ their one and only shot. If they lost this chance, then it was highly likely that they might never be able to defeat the Warumo Gang.

Kaede decided right there and then that she was going to figure out the Gaia Tribe's puzzle, even if it meant taking a risk like this! She would get the Mic and save everyone as soon as possible. Hidaka-san, Yuuki-kun, Matsutake-san, Rirumu-chan, and Murumo-chan! She would save them all! She would help Mirumo beat the Warumo Gang! Even if it meant—

"Correct!"

A chorus of voices echoed from atop the shrine, interrupting her thoughts.

 _Huh?_

She and Mirumo ran out of the shrine and saw the sacred tree above them starting to glow with the silhouettes of five fairies floating above them.

 _Th-those are the Gaia Tribe!_ Her mind was in a whirl as the five above them began to grin.

"You've guessed right! It's as hot and genuine as blazing fire…"

"…reflects happiness and sadness like a reservoir of water…"

"…as soft as the soil in the earth and yet has unbelievable strength…"

"…flows transparently just like a breeze in the wind…"

"…and as whimsical and volatile as a cloud in the sky."

What? What did she do? She looked at Mirumo and he just shrugged in response.

"Oh my! Did you just guess the offering?" Pikumu chuckled when she observed that the duo had very puzzled expressions on their faces. "Dear human, the answer to our riddle… is tears."

 _Tears?!_

"Of course the answer had to be obvious in retrospect!" Mirumo grumbled under his breath, "It just had to be!"

Win gave a hearty laugh at Mirumo's blunt statement. "Well even if it was, the fact of the matter is that you've shed your tears for someone. That shows great strength and courage."

"Not to mention that you've managed to beat all our trials," Donta continued. "I think that you two have proven your worth." As he finished, he gestured to the center of the marble shrine, where the human-fairy duo both saw a pink microphone slowly faded into view.

 _That's the…!_

"This is the Microphone instrument, or the Mic for short," Aqua spoke with a smile. "It can be used as a support tool to boost another fairy's magic by a factor of three. To activate its power, just say these magic words — Mirumon Mirumon Purikurimu."

Kaede hesitantly took the mythical instrument from the center of the shrine, just as Fia started talking. "From now on, this Mic belongs to you. Go ahead and take it, girl. You've earned it." He turned his scowl into a small smile, "Use it well, human."

Clutching the Mic in her palm like a lifeline, Kaede felt relief swirling around in her heart. Everything was going to be okay after all! With the Mic, they now stood a chance against the evil Warumo Gang!

"Thank you all!" Kaede said with sincerity. Words could not describe the joy that she felt as she held onto the Mic.

"No problem!" Aqua replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

Pikumu then floated downwards, pointing towards the cave that they had entered from earlier. "But isn't about time that you got going?" she prompted just as Mirumo glanced down at is Fairy Watch and yelped.

"Kaede! Hurry up!" he said as he grabbed her free hand. "We've got to get back to the Human World now!" As the two departed, rushing back to the transfer dome as fast as they possibly could before time ran out, Kaede heard all five members of the Gaia Tribe wishing their farewells.

"We will always be watching the two of you!" all five of them said, their voice travelling across the winds even as the duo left the Gaian Village.

* * *

" _Mirumon Mirumon Purikurimu!"_

With their combined power, she and Mirumo had managed to stop the Warumo Gang and snap her friends out of their brainwashing. Although she was forced to give up the Mic later, that moment when she had gotten the Mic was forever stuck in her mind. They had truly worked together in the Gaian trials, for the first time of many to come.

The Gaia Tribe's parting words turned out to be right. Their compatibility together as partners was flawless. Since then, she and the others had gotten into so many flight-or-fight situations, and they managed to pull through all of it with teamwork.

"Kaede… hello? Kaede! Are you still there? You've been quiet for a while!"

She sighed in dismay as Etsumi's voice buzzed on the phone. Those were her proudest moments, and yet she couldn't tell _any_ of it to her best friend. It was just so infuriating!

"Yeah. I'm fine, Etsumi." She hated keeping secrets, but there was not a single chance that Etsumi would understand.

"You should some water if your throat is getting hoarse from all that talking. Sorry to keep you held up for so long! See you next time, Kaede!"

Mumbling a goodbye, Kaede hung up the phone, before bringing her fist down on the table. _I can't even bring myself to tell Etsumi anything about the Muglox! I mean, sure, she most likely wouldn't believe a thing I said if I told her anything about wish granting fairies, but still! What kind of a friend am I?_

"Minami-san."

Oops! Kaede's hands flew to her mouth in embarrassment at the voice. Across her table was Yuuki-kun, who had flinched at her sudden outburst… and she had just banged the table in front of him, hadn't she?

Gah! Her face went red. She was so bad at relationships!

 _Wait_ , her face turned contemplative as she went back to her previous thought. _That sounded very much like something Mirumo had said earlier on._

" _Eh, uh, you know me, Kaede. I'm terrible at relationships. Look at me and Rirumu!"_

Wait one second! Did Mirumo admit that he was bad at his relationship with Rirumu-chan? That means…

Kaede grinned.

It meant the fairy actually cared about the relationship between the two. Now _this_ was definite blackmail material.

"Yuuki-kun," she asked in a predatory voice, "Where's Rirumu-chan?"

Setsu looked at his shoulder by instinct. "Oh, she's not here right now. I think she might be at home."

Darn! Oh well, she could tell Rirumu later. She can already imagine Mirumo's bashful face as he tried to deny everything. In fact, she could even guess what he would say.

" _W-what? Me? Caring about Rirumu? Oh, please! I would never say something like that! You must have misheard me!"_

She chuckled to herself at the thought. To be fair, that sentence had to be a slip of Mirumo's tongue. The proud fairy she knew would never admit something like that willingly. Still, she wouldn't let poor Mirumo ever live this down for the next few days.

Setsu sighed as he saw his girlfriend break out into laughter for no apparent reason. "Besides, if Rirumu was here right now, don't you think I would have been chatting to her instead of listening to your phone conversation?"

Hearing that comment, it hit Kaede square in the face that for her official first date with Setsu, she had just dragged him to listen to two squabbling girls talking on the phone for about an hour. Fearing the worst, she looked at Setsu's face. Sure enough, he looked unbelievably bored.

"I'm so sorry!"

Setsu smiled. "It's fine, Kaede."

"It's just that… I was just thinking about Mirumo. He's always been there for me, ever since the beginning."

 _The beginning… Maybe I should talk more about the beginning!_

She continued, "I already know the wish that you made when you summoned Rirumu-chan, but did you know about the wish that I made when I'd summoned Mirumo?"

Setsu had an amused look at her words. "I can guess," he said as he gently shook his head.

"Yep! I wished we would be together, and now that wish is finally granted!"

 _Wish granted…_

 _The glowing mug…_

Kaede suddenly clutched her forehead in pain. As she winced, a flash of memory suddenly hit her mind at full force.

" _You must come back immediately after your partner's wish has been granted. The time limit is one hour and that's final! Do you hear me!?"_

 _Wait_ , Kaede thought as she began to have a migraine from the flashes of memory. _That voice belonged to Mirumo's otou-san, Marumo-sama! What's this about coming back immediately to the Muglox World? Why didn't I remember this before now? Urk…!_

"Kaede! Kaede! Are you okay?" Setsu stood up from his chair in shock upon seeing Kaede clutching her head in pain. But despite his efforts to help, she ignored Setsu as she continued to see visions of events in her head.

" _Kaede! You're such a stubborn girl! Go and see Yuuki-kun tomorrow! You've waited your whole life for this! Don't throw it all away for me!"_

" _I won't do it! I refuse to lose you, Mirumo!"_

" _Please, Kaede! I'm begging you… don't do this!"_

" _I said no! No means no!"_

" _Do it, you stubborn girl!" Mirumo yelled with fury. "Go and see Yuuki tomorrow!"_

 _She made sure to yell back at Mirumo with pure defiance in her eyes. "Absolutely not!"_

Kaede gasped as she fell back to the floor. Now with dawning terror, she remembered what had really happened the previous night. Mirumo's father, her fight with Mirumo… everything!

" _I'm so sorry, Kaede… please forgive me! This is for your own good! Mirumo de Pon!"_

Her face turned pale as the implications of what Mirumo had done hit her square in the face. He had cast a memory erasure spell on her!

But that meant…

" _Once a fairy grants his or her partner's true wish, the partnership between the two is cancelled and you would be unable to enter the Human World again."_

Kaede's eyes widened to the size of marbles as she finished her thought process using logical deduction.

Mirumo wiping her memory and letting her follow through with her relationship with Yuuki-kun… meant that she could never see the fairy ever again!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 4/8/2018._

I'm not going to lie. In my opinion, the very first appearance of the Warumo Gang (Episodes 15 to 17) had arguably what was their most sinister plan. The only time they even came close as a threat after that was perhaps Episodes 64 & 65, but that was a tag team with Akumi, and they were following orders, so… meh.

So yeah, Kaede knows about Mirumo's big plan now. Uh, oops?


	9. One Missing Mirumo

**Chapter 9: One Missing Mirumo**

" _Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone._ " — Joni Mitchell

* * *

" _Once a fairy grants his or her partner's true wish, the partnership between the two is cancelled and you would be unable to enter the Human World again._ "

The speech of Marumo, the Muglox World's king, continued to echo in Kaede's mind, those words refusing to leave her ears like the deadly toll of a grandfather clock.

Mirumo couldn't ever come back to the Human World! Why? And why did that idiot Mirumo use his magic to make her forget about that crucial piece of information?!

"Minami… Minami! Minami Kaede!" Setsu had gotten out of his seat and was now clasping her palms with his own. "Are you feeling okay? You freaked out all of a sudden…"

"Yuuki-kun…" Kaede trembled as she struggled to maintain her composure. "It's terrible! It's a disaster!"

Setsu's eyebrows were raised. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"It's about Mirumo!"

He looked confused, although that was to be expected as he had not understood the full specifics of what he had been told. "Mirumo? What about Mirumo, Minami?"

"Mirumo's gone, Yuuki-kun! He's gone!"

"What do you mean by that?" Setsu cocked his head in confusion. "Didn't you just say that Mirumo was resting at home earlier?"

Words couldn't enter Kaede's mouth. She simply couldn't explain the full gravity of the situation that she had just remembered. With Setsu's assistance, she managed to sit back down onto the chair. Kaede then took a deep breath before trying to explain Mirumo's predicament to Yuuki-kun as best as she possibly could. "Late last night, Mirumo casted an amnesia spell on me."

"What!? An amnesia spell?" Setsu crossed his arms at the very idea. "That's unusually irresponsible of him," he commented. While Mirumo was callous and selfish a good ninety percent of the time, the fairy at least still had some standards. The very idea that he would swoop to using an amnesia spell was appalling. "Why would Mirumo do such a thing?" he questioned out loud.

At his harsh words, Kaede found herself on the verge of breaking down. "M-Mirumo casted it because he wanted to make me forget that he would leave!" she explained with choked sobs as she tried to maintain her composure.

"Leave?" Setsu muttered in surprise, the young boy tilting his head in disbelief. "But this doesn't make sense. Why would Mirumo ever leave you? You two are practically inseparable!"

"He doesn't have a choice!" Kaede yelled, a little louder than she meant to. "I'd only just learned the horrible truth yesterday." She struggled to keep her cool, taking in a deep breath. "Once a Muglox Fairy successfully grants their partner's wish, they have to return back to their home…" Seeing Setsu's dawning realization, Kaede choked back a sob before finishing off with a terrifying declaration.

"…and never return."

* * *

Many miles away from where Kaede and Setsu were having their chat, two pink-dressed fairies were having a much more casual conversation at Setsu's house.

"Oh, you're both finally together, Kaede-sama and Yuuki-sama!" Rirumu cheered with vigor. "Isn't it great, Papii-san?" she asked the nearby fairy with a chirpy smile on her face, "I've waited a whole year for this!"

A few feet away from Rirumu was Papii, lazily lying down on the wooden surface of Setsu's table. She had snuck away from her Sumi-chan to visit her friend… after receiving permission, of course.

"I mean, it is great, Rirumu-san," Papii nodded her head before letting out a sigh and looking back down to the desk top. "I feel happy for Kaede-san and Yuuki-san. But, to be honest…" she grimaced, trailing off at the end of the sentence before the fairy shook her head, continuing on as she knew she had to be truthful to her friend. "Deep down, I hoped that maybe… just maybe, I could get Sumi-chan together with Kaede-san." Papii grunted as she let out a sigh in defeat, "But honestly, we never really had a chance against you and Yuuki-san. Not even a slimmer."

"Aw, no hard feelings between us, Papii-san!" Rirumu gave a small smile to cheer the somber fairy up. "But still, I'm so happy for Yuuki-sama!"

Papii huffed at her response. "How many times have you said that already? I, for one, think that you're just being biased because Yuuki-san's _your_ human partner."

"That might be true, but there's no need to be grouchy about it!" Rirumu then gave Papii a cheeky look. "You should ditch that constant uptight frown, Papii-san! Smile more and maybe Murumo would like you a little more," she said as she shot a teasing wink at her friend.

Papii couldn't help it. She instinctively flinched in response to Rirumu's teasing, being rewarded by a slight laugh from the offending fairy.

There was not an ounce of surprise there. Whenever it came to the subject of relationships, there was almost no fairy more enthusiastic than Rirumu. As proof of that, the observant fairy had noticed her crush on Murumo almost immediately when she'd first come to the Human World in a bid to drag Murumo back.

Yes, her crush. Over the past year, with Kaede and Rirumu's constant encouragement, she had managed to at least admit that much to herself. When, Papii pondered as she bit her lip. When did it all begin? When did her formerly vicious arguments with Murumo turn from regular spats to something… different? To something more personal…

To cut to the chase, how exactly had she fallen for that dolt Murumo, and why?

 _But alas…_ Papii lamented. _What is the point of chasing someone you can't possibly have?_

The chances of Murumo ever returning her feelings were very slim. Sure, she _did_ like him, but every time she saw Murumo pull his trademarked punchable smug little face, she found that she had no choice but to give in to her inner instinct to fight with him.

And to be fair, Murumo would do the exact same thing, right back at her.

That back-and-forth between them never really helped their relationship. Rather, it actively harmed the bonds between them instead. Papii's inner reflection caused her to let out an unamused snort. The way that things had played out since the day they had first met in Fairy School had led to the two only being able to see themselves as rivals.

And unfortunately, in Papii's eyes, it would appear that Murumo thought of her as nothing more than that. But the only way that she could think of breaking this eternal stalemate and possibly turning things around was if she swallowed her pride and confessed her personal feelings to him, something which she doubted she could ever bring herself to do.

Thus, the million-dollar question… why was she physically unable to simply spit out her feelings for him? Every single time she had tried, without fail she would lose her nerve and end up attacking or insulting Murumo in the process, ruining the mood in an instant and hence turning a probable romantic moment into yet another regular squabble. Plus, knowing that all her friends were hooking up didn't do wonders for her own self-esteem there.

"It's just that… I can't see Murumo-chan returning my feelings anytime soon. It's not like you and Mirumo-san. You have the guts to tell him your feelings straight out! I… I just can't do it!"

Papii couldn't help but long for him, even if it all seemed futile. Even though she had suffered through failure heaped upon failure, she remained resilient, continuing to pine for him.

"Cheer up, Papii! One day Murumo-sama will notice you and then…" her eyes sparkled, "…you'll both be able to live happily ever after!"

 _Oh dear_ , Papii thought with a small reluctant smile. _There Rirumu-san goes again. Back into her relationship optimism mode!_

Despite that, she cheered up at Rirumu's light hearted statement. "Hahaha! Well, you're right about that! At least Mirumo-san is yours now!" Her lips curled upwards, slowly turning her expression into that of a grin. "That fairy's stuck in the Muglox World now, so he can't run from you! So when you have the chance, go home to the castle and marry him!"

"Mirumo-sama and I… the two of us happily walking down the marriage aisle!" Rirumu said as she clasped her hands together with sparkling eyes, "I can see it now…"

A sudden voice to their left interrupted their conversation as well as Rirumu's daydream, "Hey, Rirumu-san! Are you there?"

Papii sat up from her lying position, turning her head to the window. She recognized that voice anywhere. And sure enough, her suspicions were right.

It was Murumo.

The fairy panted as he leaned on the glass pane to catch his breath, his entire forehead drenched in sweat. "Oh, I am so glad that you're here, Rirumu-san! There's something I would like to talk urgently about."

"Good afternoon, Murumo-sama! You've come at the perfect timing! We were just talking about you!"

"We?" Murumo questioned as an uncertain tone crept into his voice. "What do you mean by 'we'...?" his voice suddenly caught in his throat the moment he realized that a certain bunny-eared fairy was also within the vicinity as well. "P-Papii!" he yelped, pointing an accusing finger right at her, "What are you are doing here with Rirumu-san?"

Papii huffed and folded her arms at Murumo's rude welcome. Actually, all of that lovey-dovey stuff can wait. For now, she had a score to settle with him. "Why does it matter, Murumo?" Papii shrugged as she flipped her a floppy appendage on her bunny-ear cap, further aggravating Murumo with her insolent behavior. "It's all just girl talk! But anyway…"

Murumo started looking apprehensive, the fairy wise enough not to like the apparent direction that this conversation was heading in.

 _Oh yes, he better be afraid! That Murumo will pay very dearly for exposing my bunny story in front of everyone! I plenty of took time crafting that one and he just goes and wrecks it apart in an instant. Ohhhhh! He's so going to get it…_

Papii stood up, slowly strolling towards the edge of the table and facing directly towards Murumo. "Now that it's not one o'clock in the morning, I'm very much awake…" Her eyes gleamed manically as she took a firm step forward.

"So, how about we finish what we started yesterday, Murumo!"

* * *

Murumo clenched his fists. _No_ way. His day was already bad enough without having _Papii_ , of all fairies, in the picture. Why, oh why, did that annoyance have to be with Rirumu? Was fate toying with him?

He took in deep breaths to maintain his composure. It was impossible to calm Papii down whenever she started a challenge. If he wasn't careful, he would lose control of his actions as well, and he knew that now was not the time to get distracted.

Deep breaths! All he had to do was not get agitated. If he let himself get carried away, he would lose precious time. His priority for now wasn't Papii, but his idiot onii-sama.

That said, he was still going to mess with Papii though. Trying to hide a smile which would give his plan away, Murumo looked away from the glaring fairy and turned right to Rirumu, "Sorry 'bout that! I just wanted to…"

"Hey! Aren't we going to settle this?" Papii started looking jittery upon seeing his indifference. "Murumo, you jerk! Don't ignore me!"

Murumo glowered at her insistence. "You be quiet! I'm really not in the mood for this, Papii!" he snapped, unable to take Papii's sassiness for a second longer.

Papii dropped her grin upon hearing his yell. "Uh, Murumo? Are you okay?" She dropped her playing smirk. Even she could see that he was unusually edgy today.

"No, I'm not!" he continued to rant over her meagre voice, "My onii-sama botched up big time! Do I look remotely okay to you?!"

Rirumu's ears perked up upon mention of Mirumo. "Murumo-sama, what do you mean by that?"

Murumo paced up and down the windowsill. "I don't think onii-sama kept his promise! Otou-sama says he's not back yet! What is onii-sama thinking! He can't seriously be thinking of defying the Gaia Tribe… can he?"

"That can't be right, Murumo-sama!" Rirumu shook her head rapidly, unable to process the words that she was being told. "Mirumo-sama would never break his word!"

 _Aren't you conveniently forgetting the time onii-sama forgot your engagement anniversary there, Rirumu-san? And to think I went through so much trouble with Kaede-san to get you two back together again…_

Shaking the thought from his head, Murumo continued. "Regardless, onii-sama's not back in the Muglox World yet. And to make things worse, I can't contact him at all!"

Rirumu jolted back, remembering something at those words. "Contact…? Oh yes! I just remembered something, Murumo-sama!" She held up her Fairy Watch to the others as she triumphantly made a declaration, "I received a call from Mirumo-sama about an hour ago!"

Both Murumo and Papii perked up. "You did, Rirumu-san? What did he say?" he immediately questioned.

"Mirumo-sama called me on my Fairy Watch! All he asked was whether I was with Kaede-sama and Yuuki-sama. Then after that, he hung up."

"What?" Murumo raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Isn't that something normal to ask? It would make sense that my onii-sama would want to say goodbye to Kaede-san."

"But something's weird, Murumo-sama. Mirumo-sama told me before he left at noon that he had said everything that he could to Kaede-sama, so why would Mirumo-sama change his mind at the last minute?" Not realizing that Murumo's eyes had widened upon her last remark, Rirumu carried on as she pursed her lips. "Come to think of it, Mirumo-sama also said that the Warumo Gang caused him trouble." Her frown then quickly turned to that of a smile as she added, "But they were no match for Mirumo-sama, of course!"

Murumo maintained his usual calm and cute façade on the outside, but on the inside he was cursing up a storm. He knew his brother better than anyone. The Warumo Gang were universally known as a bunch of jokes. His onii-sama cared about his reputation over anything, so Mirumo must have simply used their name as an excuse to cover up for the fact that he was looking for Kaede-san.

And why would Mirumo look for Kaede-san in the first place? Murumo could wager a guess. He must have felt guilty or apprehensive about leaving, and had chickened out and decided to tell her about the Gaia Tribe's ruling that a Muglox Fairy must leave the Human World after a completed wish.

 _Feh! To think that after all the trouble we took to meet up at midnight and making that promise to onii-sama not to tell Kaede-san, he winds up being the first one of all of us to break his own promise!_ Murumo thought with irritation. He was definitely going to pump his brother with a fully charged electric Shocker Beam when they met.

Still listening in to the conversation out of concern, Papii proceeded to chirp in, "Did Mirumo-san say anything else before he hung up?"

"I don't think so. Mirumo-sama looked like he was in a hurry. Right after I answered him, he cut the line." Rirumu's expression turned to one of worry. "I don't know! I'm worried about Mirumo-sama! He didn't act right! I just know it! It's not like Mirumo-sama to cut a call…"

Papii narrowed her eyes. "Hold it… he didn't hang up normally? Mirumo-san cut your phone call?"

"Yes, he did." Rirumu sighed with a tinge of fear in her voice. "Mirumo-sama even had to reassure me that everything was fine before he—"

"Onii-sama's saying that everything is fine?!" Murumo shouted, interrupting Rirumu's lamenting. "I've lived with my onii-sama since I was born! That's practically his catchphrase for when things turn nasty! Something's definitely up here!" Murumo ran right up to Rirumu and stared at her in the eye. "Rirumu-san! Do you know where Yuuki-san and Kaede-san are?"

"They are having a date at the new fast food restaurant!" Rirumu answered without thinking, before gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. "Oops! I promised Yuuki-sama I wouldn't tell anyone—"

"Forget that!" Murumo retorted. "I have a hunch about where onii-sama is, and I think I'm right! Oh, onii-sama's got some explaining to do!" Without even waiting for the other two, he took out his fans and started flying towards his new destination.

"Murumo-sama!"

"H-hey! Murumo! Wait up for me, you idiot!"

His greatest fear was coming true after all.

Why his onii-sama was acting so secretive, the meeting at the park, the call to Rirumu-san… everything! It finally all made sense.

Mirumo was going to openly defy the Gaia Tribe. He had to be.

His onii-sama had never been serious about returning to the Muglox World in the first place! The realization hit Murumo like a ton of bricks as the fairy found himself carefully thinking back to Mirumo-oniisama's speech the previous night.

" _Stupid Gaia Tribe! T-Those idiots made a dumb rule that states that when a Muglox Fairy grants their partner's true w-wish, they can never return back to the Human W-World._ "

He had heard his brother's anguish and subsequent breakdown upon saying those words. There was no way that the proud onii-sama he knew would take that rule lying down.

 _Of course he wouldn't! I should have known that onii-sama would never take something like that lying down!_

Mid-flight, Murumo grimaced and made haste, visibly getting more and more frightened as the new thought in his head took over like a parasite, leading to more and more frightening conclusions.

His onii-sama might be one of those people who 'do first, think later', but even so, there was no way that Mirumo was dumb enough to defy the Gaia Tribe on his own. They would be on the lookout for him. He would need to go into complete hiding with Kaede-san to avoid being brought back to the Muglox World.

With a feeling of betrayal, it dawned on Murumo that the reason that Mirumo had deliberately told them all about the situation last night was not to warn them about their own human partners, as he'd claimed. Rather, it had been to warn them that he might need their help to go against the Gaians.

It explained so many things! Mirumo had told them all at the park about the Gaia Tribe's rule, not as an advance warning about the rule itself, but instead as a warning that he was about to abscond. Basically, Mirumo was going to continue living with Kaede in secret, challenging the entire Gaia Tribe and their decree.

Yashichi-san might be his onii-sama's self-proclaimed eternal rival, but he would definitely help out Mirumo in a situation like this. The fairy ghost Panta liked Mirumo, going to the point of calling him Mirumo-oniisan, a term normally reserved for sibling affection, so it would be easy for his onii-sama to persuade him as well.

And as for Rirumu-san? That was a gone case. She would do anything for Mirumo.

Given how things were looking, chances were that Mirumo probably expected him to help him out as well, being his younger brother…

 _Not a chance, onii-sama_ , Murumo thought with fury, continuing to fly towards the restaurant that Rirumu-san said Kaede-san and Yuuki-san were.

His father hadn't received word of Mirumo's arrival and had most likely sent the Royal Guards to find him. The Royal Guards were the Muglox Castle's elite military force. Dressed in steel armor, the infantry fleet was under the direct command of the monarchy. If the king needed a job done, the Royal Guards would perform the task and do it without hesitation. Their sheer numbers and loyalty had even stunned Murumo a couple of times when his otou-san had ordered them to subdue either him or Mirumo-oniisama.

But despite their large numbers, there was one advantage that Murumo had over them at the moment. The Royal Guards had to be searching for Mirumo under his father's orders, but they hadn't the faintest idea of where he was.

The Royal Guards being lost was great for him, of course. It was imperative that he beat his dad and the Royal Guards to Mirumo, lest they realize that Mirumo had spilled the beans on the Gaia Tribe's decree. That would not end well.

Luckily, fate was on his side. During the Mechamo incident from close to a year ago, Mirumo had temporarily been an outlaw. During that time, Murumo remembered that they had only looked for Mirumo at the places where he would normally be at. Murumo smirked as that realization calmed his nerves down. His otou-sama's Royal Guards was likely hunting for Mirumo at the completely wrong location.

The morons. Doing exactly as they were told thanks to the guard's harsh regimentation without even using their brains to narrow down his onii-sama's location. Frankly, they deserved to get lost. But unlike his dad or the many Royal Guards combing the town, Murumo knew where Mirumo was mostly likely at. Onii-sama _had_ to be at the restaurant with Kaede.

It was a little over two hours since Mirumo had last been spotted at the park. That was more than enough time for him to dart over to Kaede-san, refresh her memory, and then proceed to update her on the situation without any of the others knowing. That had to be why, according to Rirumu-san, he had acted so weird in the phone call with her. He knew his brother and his patterns well enough to recognize the telltale signs of a lie. His onii-sama must have made up a cover story on the fly to avoid blowing his cover.

It was the perfect cover-up — using the smokescreen of a date as a decoy to brief his partner Kaede-san. Dammit, it was so smart, yet so obvious that Murumo almost wanted to applaud his brother for the plan. Almost.

Of course Kaede-san would agree with him. Maybe not immediately, but eventually she would give in. She and Mirumo-oniisama were inseparable as partners. There was no way that the human girl wouldn't take a gamble in order to keep him alongside her as her Muglox Fairy.

Murumo snorted in anger, continuing to zoom across the sky as fast as he physically could. If Mirumo had truly gone into hiding to continue being with Kaede-san, then he resolved that he would personally hunt his brother out.

 _I'll personally make sure that onii-sama doesn't do something that reckless and stupid! I won't let that baka incur the wrath of the Gaia Tribe even if it means I have to drag him kicking and screaming all the way back to the Muglox World!_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 20/9/2018._

Nothing much to add here. This is pretty much a chapter that focuses on the remaining fairies as they ponder about where Mirumo had disappeared off to… and come to a rather inaccurate, though somewhat believable, theory as to where he is.

So the next chapter will conclude the search introduction arc once and for all, and the entire pre-timeskip segment. The chapter thereafter will be where I originally managed to make it to in 2017 before taking a hiatus. Woo!


	10. Tragedy at Two

**Chapter 10: Tragedy at Two**

The atmosphere at the fast food restaurant was unbelievably tense.

Despite previously having a romantic, cozy atmosphere, it now felt like a completely different area. An ominous aura had wafted around the area, descending upon its inhabitants and resulting in the café feeling almost as stressful as the air around an examination room.

And much like the stress from facing an exam, a blonde-hair girl was feeling very under the weather herself. With much coaxing, Kaede had finally managed to spill everything that had occurred during the previous night to her beloved Yuuki-kun.

When she said "everything", she meant it too, right down to the tiniest, most insignificant details. She'd even quoted the speech that she wished she could forget all over again… the events which she had prayed were nothing more than a bad dream.

Of course, reality wasn't going to be _that_ nice to Minami Kaede.

"So, to summarize, you're saying that Mirumo can't ever come back here just because he granted your wish. Am I wrong, Minami?" Setsu had his serious face up, the kind of expression that the middle-schooler would normally show whenever he was engrossed in reading a novel.

"No… you're entirely right!" Kaede cried out, tears threatening to flow again. She couldn't bear to remember the Muglox Fairy she had known for a year. Sure, she hated Mirumo for what he did, but at the same time she couldn't exactly blame him for wiping her memory either, now that she was looking at it from his shoes.

She didn't want to lose Mirumo, nor her relationship with Yuuki-kun. And thus, Mirumo had made the choice for her.

"It's all over…" she lamented. "I can't ever see him again!"

"No." Her Yuuki-kun's resolute voice caused her to lift up her head. "You're wrong, Minami!"

Kaede focused on Setsu's strong words. He sounded so confident that she almost let herself believe that they could see each other again. "What do you mean?" she asked in a quiet, hesitant voice, the girl afraid to get her hoopes up lest they end up crashing down.

"You'd said it yourself! Marumo-sama only said that Mirumo can't come back, didn't he? Look back at what he said. I'm sure that you'll quickly spot the loophole, Minami-san."

At his persuasion, Kaede quickly thought back to those words carefully.

" _You would be unable to enter the Human World again._ "

Kaede almost fell down in shock. It had all been so simple, the answer right in front of her eyes. Marumo had only said that Mirumo couldn't visit the Human World…

Setsu winked, seeing the dawning look of realization that slowly crept onto her face. "Do you see what I'm getting at?"

…but he'd never said a thing about her visiting the Muglox World!

"Yes, yes, yes!" She broke into cheers once Setsu had pointed out the blatant loophole. "You're right, Yuuki-kun! I never even thought about it from that perspective! Thank you so much!"

Seeing Kaede much livelier with hope now filling her previously empty heart, Setsu continued on with a soft smirk. "Minami. This isn't the end. All you need now is to find a way to get back to the Muglox World without Mirumo, and you're all set."

Oh… yeah. That was right. She still needed to work her way around one final obstacle — finding a way to the Muglox World. With Mirumo gone, there went her prime method of going to the world of the fairies.

Believe it or not, humans entering the Muglox World were actually supposed to be a very rare thing. Only Royal Family members could cast the Human Transformation spell to turn a human into a fairy, and they didn't cast that spell lightly. According to Mirumo, it was not recommended unless absolutely necessary, hence why the twenty-four-hour limit existed when humans need to visit the Fairy World in an absolute emergency.

She had probably been the first human to visit the Fairy World in centuries. In fact, the very first time she was forced to the Fairy World, it took a drastic situation and much coaxing by an annoyed Mimomo to finally convince Mirumo to turn her into a fairy.

But once she had the Mic from the Gaians, as well as her own mug from Mimomo, she found that she was able to circumvent the Human Transformation spell and simply get to the Muglox World on her own. This had resulted in her visiting Mirumo's world a lot more, especially when Enma-sensei forced her to attend the Fairy School. By the time she had relinquished the Mic instrument, Mirumo had gotten so used to her being in fairy form that he would simply turn her and her friends into fairies upon request, ignoring the whole 'only use if it's important' thing that had stopped him from doing so previously.

Now though, she didn't have the Mic _or_ her fairy partner. That certainly posed a bit of a roadblock. How was she going to get there now?

The only other method that remotely crossed her mind was to have a member of the Royal Family cast the spell, but there wasn't really a chance that the uptight King or Queen would cast it for her over a matter as small as visiting their son. After all, humans were _technically_ forbidden to be in the Muglox World.

But alas, she had no choice! Only members of the Royal Family could cast the spell!

Wait, the _Royal Family_?

Kaede almost facepalmed as she thought back on it. She was such an idiot!

The answer was right in front of her nose. She did have a fallback method to get to the Muglox World after all — Murumo-chan!

She chuckled at her folly. _Prince_ Murumo, to be exact. To be perfectly fair, most people tended to forget that Murumo was a prince.

The outgoing, selfish Mirumo didn't exactly come off as a member of royalty, so why would Murumo, the cuter and more innocent younger brother, act like one too? Not even _she_ had known at the start that the two brothers were royalty until Murumo had spilled the beans to her. They didn't flaunt their heritage and they appear rather unlike the posh, pompous members of actual human royalty — no capes, no crowns, and _especially_ no haughty manner of speaking.

But since only royal family members could cast the spell that transformed humans to fairies, Murumo's royal blood was now her key. If she could convince him to cast the spell on her, then she would be able to visit the Muglox World and proceed to reunite with Mirumo… after she kicked his butt big time for the stunt that he'd pulled, that is.

There was only one problem that remained for her — Murumo might not know the spell. She'd asked Murumo to attempt to cast the Human Transformation spell once before, when Mirumo had been captured by the Warumo Gang. And at that time, Murumo had unfortunately not learned the spell.

Ironically, him not knowing turned out to be a blessing in disguise in the long run since she had managed to gain her own mug from Mimomo's Shop as a secondary method of transfer. With the Mic and her own mug, she was then able to access the Muglox World at her own free will.

The trouble was that since she always had a reliable method to get to the Muglox World up to this point, she had taken her ability to get to the Fairy World for granted. Even after she had returned the Mic back to the Gaia Tribe, Mirumo had always been there when she needed to go to the Muglox World, albeit with that pesky twenty-four-hour limitation back in place again.

With Mirumo around, she had never felt the need nor had the chance to ask Murumo to attempt to cast the spell from the previous attempt. Now that she'd lost both the Mic and Mirumo, what if Murumo still hadn't learned it?

"No! Don't think that way! Murumo-chan _has_ to know the spell!" Kaede yelled back at her brain. She couldn't afford to be pessimistic now. Sure, Murumo-chan was a long shot, but he was literally her only chance… the only one she knew who could even remotely be her ticket to the Muglox World.

She just had to hope that Murumo knew the spell. Kaede couldn't bear to face the worst-case scenario — that if Murumo was unable to bring her to the Muglox World, then she and Mirumo would truly be separated forever.

Yeah, no.

"Murumo-chan. We have to find Murumo-chan," she mumbled, looking at Setsu's face. Although once she actually got a good look at his knowing face, Kaede realized that he had already figured out everything that was in her mind.

 _Yuuki-kun probably had this idea planned up from the very moment I explained everything. He just didn't say anything because he wanted me to figure it out for myself_ _…_

 _…t_ _hank you, Yuuki-kun._

As she rushed with Setsu in the direction of the Matsutake household, Kaede had solemnly made up her mind on one thing — when she reunited with Mirumo, she was going to strangle him for being such an idiot!

She was just about to turn the street corner, whirling around it so quick that her shoes almost came off, when a sudden shout greeted her ears.

"Yuuki-san! Kaede-san!"

Kaede immediately stopped her running, her dress shoes skidding to a complete halt on the pavement. _That voice. It couldn't be…_

Looking up to the sky, she saw a blue clothed fairy with a hat that had two dangling antennas drooping to the side.

 _What a coincidence_ , Kaede thought with a small smile. _I was just looking for Murumo-chan and now, here he is!_ She couldn't resist an ironic grin of excitement. _Fate must be on my side to bring him to me._ At least now she didn't have to run all the way to Matsutake-san's mansion.

"Kaede-san! This isn't funny! I literally had to wring Rirumu-san to find you both!" the flying fairy whined, misinterpreting the smile on Kaede's face as one made out of amusement. "Why did you two have to be so far out of the way, anyway?"

"You coerced our location from Rirumu?" Setsu admonished Murumo as he simultaneously sighed at the outlandish situation that had arose. Although he would have preferred if Rirumu hadn't spilled the beans, it'd ended up being a blessing in disguise.

It still didn't mean that he wasn't going to express his disdain about the whole affair. "A private date isn't meant to be eavesdropped upon…" he grumbled under his breath.

Murumo look sheepish for just a moment before an unusually cocky grin appeared on his face. "Is that why you were in a fast food restaurant of all places for a date with Kaede-san?"

Both she and Setsu were mortified, the duo both embarrassed by Murumo's blunt observation. After an eternity, Setsu eventually spoke up. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't want you fairies to eavesdrop, so I picked a location that wouldn't be such an obvious place…" he sheepishly said.

"Alright, gotcha there!" Murumo chuckled back. Without warning, his usual smile turned deadpan. "But enough games and jokes though. Kaede-san, where's onii-sama?"

 _Huh? Murumo-chan is looking for Mirumo?_ Kaede started getting a bit displeased with Mirumo as she heard the question. _That must mean that Mirumo never told his own brother… that insensitive jerk!_

Mirumo must really not have wanted anyone to know before he flew the coop if his own younger brother had no clue that he was gone! Feeling guilty that Murumo had no idea of the full gravity of the situation, Kaede decided to put off her thoughts of asking the fairy for the spell so that she could inform him of the situation.

"Murumo-chan…" Kaede struggled to look at the small fairy in the eye, unsure of how she wanted to break the news. "M-Mirumo… your onii-sama, he's gone…"

Not expecting that answer, Murumo appeared dazed, cocking his head in confusion once he managed to recover. Lowering his flight altitude to reach Kaede's eye level, he immediately pressed the girl for more details. "What do you mean by that? Omii-sama is gone? Do you mean that he just left this place? Grr…" he growled in an unusually dark manner, "That means I flew all this way for nothing—"

"No! It's not that at all!" Kaede interrupted Murumo, choking back a bitter sob. "Mirumo's left us, Murumo-chan! He's returned to the Muglox World and is never coming back here!"

* * *

 _Wait a minute! So Mirumo isn't actually with Kaede-san at all?_

Well, there went his theory, flying out of the window. He had been so certain that his onii-sama would be hiding with Kaede that he never considered that there might have been a chance that it wouldn't be the case.

But if so, then where on earth was Mirumo-oniisama? And if his onii-sama had never told Kaede-san about the situation, how did she know about it?

The answer hit Murumo like a jolt. Of course, it must have been the amnesia spell! Mirumo had mentioned about casting it on Kaede-san at the park meeting. Well, it would seem as though the short-term memory spell had worn off earlier than expected.

But still, Murumo was unable to believe that this was happening. He'd already known that Kaede was obviously going to remember everything eventually, but he hadn't expected himself to end up being the lucky one forced to explain all of the information to her.

 _Today is not my day_ , he thought to himself. Trying to keep the shock off his face, he stopped flapping his fans and landed gently on the ground, a short distance away from the new human couple.

Should he pretend that he didn't know? That was Murumo's key dilemma right now. He could act cute, but generally speaking, he wasn't the best liar when he was pressed.

Thus, simply pretending not to know at all was the obvious choice. After all, the meeting at midnight had 'technically' never happened. And there _was_ that promise he'd made to onii-sama not to tell Kaede. _A promise is a promise_ , he resolved with a firm expression.

"What do you mean by, 'my onii-sama's not coming back'?" Murumo asked, swiftly feigning ignorance with a shrug. "How do you know this, Kaede-san?"

Kaede tensed up. "Well, er, you see…" She looked very nervous, and given the situation, Murumo couldn't blame her for stuttering. She didn't know that he'd already known everything prior to their conversation, and thus she must be thinking of the best way to break the news to him.

In other words, Kaede-san must be hesitating because she didn't know how to tell him that his brother had ditched him!

Murumo quickly put on his adorable face to try to diffuse Kaede's inner tension. After all, he already knew everything, so he was already mentally prepared for what she had to say. "You can tell me! Please!"

He chuckled inwardly. Oh yes, he really could speak in a much less forced manner when he used his inherent cuteness to his advantage.

"Well," Kaede bit her lip. "You see, Murumo-san… I found out yesterday that Mirumo has returned to the Muglox World."

He already knew about this, but he continued to play along, pretending that this was the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing. "What do you mean, Kaede-san?" he whined.

"Last night, I'd overheard a conversation between Mirumo and his otou-sama. Your father, Murumo. I didn't remember until today because Mirumo had cast a spell on me." A flash of anger momentarily crept onto Kaede's face, only to be quickly replaced by one of sadness. "Once my wish to be with Yuuki-kun was granted," she said, gesturing to Setsu, "Mirumo has to return and never come back."

"Eh!" Murumo let out a controlled shriek. "Onii-sama didn't tell me this!" He felt bad about lying to Kaede, but he refused to be the one held responsible for telling Kaede why none of the Muglox Fairies had warned her ahead of time despite them knowing about Mirumo's predicament.

"I'm sorry that you didn't know, Murumo-san. He had no choice," Kaede said, trying to justify why her partner could have left so suddenly, even if she didn't really look like she believed her own explanation herself. "It was either him or Yuuki-kun. Once the wish was granted, if he didn't return within an hour, Mirumo would be punished."

Murumo perked his head up. "One hour?" he repeated in a surprised voice. Now _this_ was new to him… he had never heard of this before. "Kaede-san! How do you know this?"

"It was Marumo-sama's speech. He'd mentioned it to Mirumo."

Murumo sighed. Honestly, his brother was unbelievably forgetful when it came down to details. This little detail was something that his onii-sama hadn't told him or the others anything about this at midnight.

 _"Did the timing change? Was the wish granted at twelve!?"_

All of sudden, Murumo froze. Oh, crud!

This was why his father had asked him for the time that Kaede's wish would be granted in the morning! An hour from when the wish was granted would be one in the afternoon. And one in the afternoon was the time his father had called him a second time.

Murumo felt his antennas drooping down in terror. His father hadn't called him because Mirumo was going to break the Gaia Tribe's rule… he had called because he was afraid that Mirumo had _already_ broken the rule!

The fairy clutched his head in distress, his cute demeanor slowly but surely started to crack.

"Oi, Murumo!" Murumo was hoisted out of his thoughts from an annoying voice that came from the sky above.

 _Augh! Why must Papii always appear when I don't want her to?_

Kaede and Setsu peered up to see both Papii and Rirumu flying down towards them. "Rirumu-san, Papii-san! What are you both doing here?" Kaede asked out of curiosity while Setsu held a hand to his head with a sigh. Just a few moments ago, they had been having some alone time. He should have known that it wasn't to last.

"Well, this Murumo," Papii muttered in irritation while pointing at the fairy in question, "decided to run off without warning. So I had to follow him." Then, as she realized that her previous statement could be taken the wrong way, she hurriedly added, "Not that I was worried for Murumo or anything!"

"Is that so?" Kaede teased, finally starting to smile again. Personally, Murumo didn't get what was so funny about what Papii just said, but whatever. Anything to get him and Kaede's mind off of Mirumo was good in his books right now.

"G-gah, no!" Papii whined, squeezing her eyes shut as she vehemently shook her head. "That's not what I meant at all! Don't get the wrong idea!"

Murumo ignored the two gossiping females, instead opting to whisper to Rirumu, who had landed unnoticed compared to Papii's loud entrance. "Psst! Rirumu-san! Did you remember exactly when you got onii-sama's phone call?"

Rirumu pondered with a finger to her lip, pausing for a moment before answering, "Hm… I think that Mirumo-sama called me around ten minutes to one."

Murumo staggered back at her response, the fairy falling to the ground. Rirumu ran up to him, reaching out an arm to beckon him back up. "Murumo-sama! Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

He was too dazed to even hear her properly. He was currently too focused on what he had just learnt. A one-hour time limit and Mirumo had the misfortune to be messing around with the Warumo Gang a mere ten minutes to the deadline?

Murumo finally realized with a jolt what had truly happened — his Mirumo-oniichan must have run out of time. And just like that, thanks to the one-hour grace period, his onii-sama had broken the same law that just twelve hours ago, he was so desperate to not break.

In other words, Mirumo was now effectively at the mercy of the Gaia Tribe. Pure and simple.

 _His brother. His idiotic brother. Mirumo-oniisama… no, no, no, no, no!_

Murumo broke down and started to sob. "Waaahh! Onii-sama! M-M-Mirumo!" he let out an anguished cry, crying out for his brother with an arm outstretched up to the sky.

His sudden wailing caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"Huh?" Setsu called out. He didn't expect the usually cheerful fairy to break down.

"Murumo-chan!" Kaede had a horrified look on her face at the sight. She hadn't expected Murumo to take his brother's "going back to the Muglox World situation" that badly. But that was because unlike Murumo, she herself didn't know the full circumstance of Mirumo's flight.

"H-hey! Murumo, are you okay?!" Papii asked, using a concerned tone for once. When Murumo still didn't give a response, the fairy tried doing the opposite.

Patting his shoulder roughly, she instead tried to instigate him. "Hey! You're a boy, show some guts! Don't you cry on me, you crybaby!" she said, hitting his back with force.

" _If he gets mad at me, he'll forget all about his sadness!_ " she thought, smirking to herself.

Unfortunately, she got no response from the shuddering Murumo.

"Uh, Murumo?" Papii waved her hands rapidly in front of his eyes. "Hello? This is the point where you'd get angry at me? Hello?!"

Still no answer.

"Murumo-san…" she looked down once she reached that conclusion that he was inconsolable. Papii began to tear up as well, seeing the state that Murumo was in. "Please don't cry." She put her hands around him, mustering up the courage to hug him in an attempt to console him.

Murumo flinched just slightly from their physical contact. "Go away…" he whimpered uselessly.

"No way! Not until you cheer up." Papii softly said. "When we get back to the Muglox World, we'll beat up Mirumo-san together!"

 _Oh, those optimists! They don't know! They didn't know…_

They didn't know the true mess that his onii-sama was in right now. The humans and fairies thought that he was safely back in the Muglox World.

Too bad that all of them couldn't be further from the truth...

Murumo ignored all of them and continued to sob.

* * *

White. Nothing but pure whiteness.

A fairy slowly let out a groan as he woke up in a daze, a splitting headache greeting him thanks to all the white light surrounding him.

"Grah!"

After managing to sit himself up, he started blinking tears away from his groggy eyes so as to get a clearer vision and attempt to grasp as to where his current location was. "Where is this place?" he muttered. As far as he remembered, the last location that he had been at was…

 _Tick-tock, tick-tock…_

Gah! The Warumo Gang and the café! His farewell! Kaede!

Mirumo frantically panicked again, remembering the chase he'd made for Kaede. However, his rapid movements only caused his headache to get worse. He clutched his head, wincing and half-shutting his eyelids in agony as his migraine got worse from his flailing.

 _Deep breathing, don't hyperventilate there! Just calm yourself down and don't panic. Deep breaths…_

After what felt like an eternity to him, the dazzling whiteness that enveloped the area slowly became bearable to his eyes. Blinking once more to focus his vision, he peered around, looking at the surrounding area.

Clouds.

All Mirumo could see around him, as far as the eye can see, was clouds.

Just great. Perfectly brilliant.

Had he somehow found himself back in Pikumu's palace? After all, the Gaian loved clouds. As far as Mirumo was concerned, the place where he was at right now was filled to the brim with clouds. In fact, the clouds below his feet were so plentiful that it actually stretched further than his eye was able to see, the fluffy ground all around him reaching all the way to the horizon, and even further beyond.

 _Hey, wait a minute! Clouds further than the horizon?_

Mirumo jolted, darting his eyes all around the area. He remembered this place! It was literally fresh in his memory as he had just found himself here a mere three days ago.

The last time he was here, it had been because of that rascal Panta. The fairy ghost had left Morishita-san and returned back to the Fairy Heaven in an attempt to try to negotiate something to make his human partner happy…

…wait a minute!

Mirumo performed a double-take, stopping himself mid-thought before letting out a shriek in horror.

The Fairy Heaven?! Why was he in the Fairy Heaven?!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 24/10/2018._

Climax realization chapter for Murumo. The original version was rushed, and if I were to be perfectly honest… I still do think this edited version is still somewhat rushed as well, but I tried to fix the pacing as best as I could.

But we're getting there, folks. There's only one final chapter left to edit and rewrite!


	11. Deal or No Deal?

**Chapter 11: Deal or No Deal?**

This had to be some kind of sick joke! Why was he back here again?

Mirumo to pinch his arm an additional time just to check that he wasn't somehow dreaming in broad daylight. Sure, he might have suffered a major headache earlier on which technically might count as pain, but Mirumo needed absolute certainty that it wasn't his imagination.

The sharp pain that Mirumo received from his own pinch told him the answer. He sighed in frustration.

No, this was not a dream.

Besides, Mirumo thought to himself, if this really was a dream, then his so-called 'heaven' would have been filled with piles and piles of chocolate and Kumoccho. Just where were the mountains of chocolate just waiting to be fed into his watering mouth? He'd been lied to!

"Hello! Is anyone here?" he finally called out, hoping despite an increasing feeling amount of despair welling up within him to find someone that would be able to explain this unusual situation to him in a way which he would find desirable. He cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice, repeating his call. "Hello?! Can anyone hear me? Anyone at all?"

Although he continued to holler for quite some time, he had yet to hear a single reply — finding himself hearing nothing in response except for the reverberation of his own voice.

Before long, Mirumo felt butterflies gathering in his stomach, the fairy growing restless and uneasy. He had to fight his inner demons and ignore the dark possibilities that had entered and germinated in his mind.

 _Come on, Mirumo, don't scare yourself. You're probably at Pikumu's place again. That's why there are so many clouds..._

A sudden intrusion interrupted Mirumo's thoughts before his worried mind could conjure up darker and darker scenarios. "Yes, hello there? Can you hear me? I'm standing over here!"

Mirumo turned his head at the elderly voice, spinning around as he ended up coming face-to-face with the speaker. Standing directly behind him was a senior fairy with flowing white hair. He was very tall for a fairy, standing at least a full head over Mirumo.

Another thing that Mirumo noticed right away was that the cheek marks on the side of the tall fairy's face were pink ribbons. Upon noticing that Mirumo was looking at him, he glanced down upon the shorter Mirumo with wise, yet softened eyes. "I see that you have arrived safely, young one."

"Arrived safely? Why do you care?" Mirumo scowled with a hint of irritation on his expression. "Who do you think you are, my caretaker?"

He placed a hand to his forehead out of exasperation at Mirumo's angered tone. "I suppose that you could say that…"

"Oi! Have you been stalking me?!" Mirumo asked, a growl growing on his face. "How did you know that I would be here?"

"Because it is your time," he answered cryptically, "Your time has come, Mirumo-sama."

"My… time?" Mirumo repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yes, it is indeed your time. My dear Mirumo-sama," the elderly fairy gave a small sigh as he hobbled forward, "I'm afraid to inform you that as of now, you're already dead…"

There was silence for a moment.

"Wh-what?" Mirumo yelled in shock, breaking the silence and thrusting his arms out as he rounded onto the fairy in front of him. "Say that again, you old coot!"

"You wish for me to repeat what I said?" He quirked his head at Mirumo's unusual request. "Alright then, as you wish. Well, you're already dead, Mirumo—"

Mirumo raged, flailing his arms about and cutting him off before he could continue. "Oi… I was joking! That was rhetorical!"

"What does 'rhetorical' mean?" he scratched his beard, asking out of curiosity.

"It means that you don't answer my question because the answer to my question is supposed to be so obvious that everyone can tell the answer at one glance! There's no point in answering it! Got that!?" Mirumo shouted back. His abrupt response back to the fairy elder might have been caused by his usual stubborn behavior, but this time Mirumo was trying to—rather futilely—hide the fact that deep down within him, he already knew that what the other fairy had said was true.

This had to be the fabled Fairy Heaven.

It was so obvious in retrospect. After all, he knew it wasn't an old wives' tale and that Fairy Ghosts really did exist after his uncanny meeting with one. And yet, in spite of all of the mounting evidence—the white clouds, the carefree fairies that he'd only _just_ spotted in the distance, the old man dressed in robes—some part of Mirumo still refused to believe the reality that he'd been thrust into until he had been explicitly told so.

"I can't be dead!" Mirumo started with a flustered voice, the fairy in full-on denial mode. "There's still so much that I have to do with my life! I was supposed to sample every chocolate brand that there is in the entire world! Make fun of Yashichi and the Warumo Gang! Review the latest Kumoccho flavor! Rise up to take the throne! There's no way that I can possibly be dead! Not me… not now!" he howled, before a sudden occurrence hit him. "Wait a minute… why am I even dead anyway…?"

Mirumo only trailed off when the final question he'd asked left his lips, a faint voice from his father echoing within his head.

 _"If you do not return, you will suffer a grave punishment."_

A _grave_ punishment…

Mirumo's eyebrow twitched.

If he wasn't so angry, Mirumo would have cringed at the pun. As it stood right now, he could only feel a sense of utter fury welling up from within him. So _this_ was actually the Gaia Tribe's punishment? They couldn't be serious!

Really? This was it? All because he had run out of time unintentionally?

In a fit of rage, Mirumo unfastened his watch, dangling it by the handle using his free arm. "This is all your fault, you stupid lousy device! You had one job, one single job!" he howled in anger while glaring at the broken watch, "All you had to do was give me an accurate reading, and you couldn't even do just that!" With as much strength and anger as he could muster, Mirumo threw the blasted piece of plastic off the cloud canopy with a single motion of his hand.

 _Good riddance!_ Mirumo thought when he saw the watch disappear beneath the clouds. He hoped that the impact would completely obliterate the falling watch when it eventually landed after freefalling for thousands of feet. He smirked, allowing himself a small chuckle as his mind conjured up an image of the likely wreck that would be all that was left of said watch after it hit the ground from the height which he had thrown it off of.

His smirk however, was quickly replaced by a lingering sense of sorrow. He really was dead. Now, he had literally turned into his very own worst fear… a fairy ghost, just like what Panta was.

So what was he to do now? All his dreams, his hopes and aspirations, his goals… all of it was shattered, just like that. It would never become reality, not now, not ever. Mirumo could only look down and stare vacantly at the clouds below, his face a melancholic blank as he reminiscenced about his former life back down beneath.

"You must not have liked that watch very much," the old fairy cut in without warning upon seeing Mirumo freeze up. "But what can you do? This is fate—"

"No, it isn't!" Mirumo shouted in fury, "I was sent here unjustly! Let me out of here! I don't belong in this place!"

"Listen to me, Mirumo-sama," the old fairy looked at Mirumo. "Most new arrivals to the afterlife often think the same thing. But do not worry, I have seen it all before. What you are currently experiencing right now are the five stages of grief. First of all, there is denial…"

"No!" Mirumo yelled out, backing away from the elderly fairy as he shook his head vigorously. "Get away from me! I'm not dead! I can't possibly be dead, you crazy old coot! Shoo!"

The old man continued to ramble, acting as though Mirumo wasn't even there. "And after denial, there is anger."

"Oi! I'm getting real mad here! Are you even listening to me, you idiot? Don't ignore me!" Mirumo stormed up to him, looking up to glare at him in the eye.

"After anger comes bargaining…" he mumbled in a tired voice, causing Mirumo to snap out of his rage.

Seeing his plan failing, Mirumo resorted to begging. "Old coot, please!" he fell onto his knees and began to plead with him, realizing that the stubborn fairy was his only minuscule hope to get back home. "Please let me out of here! I don't belong here… I belong back home! Down there in the Fairy World!"

The elderly fairy could only sigh at Mirumo's antics, ignoring the young fairy's pleas as he continued to speak. "And then thereafter comes the stage of depression."

 _Crap! This old coot is right_ , Mirumo thought, _I really must be dead_. He tried pinching his cheeks one more time. The sharp stinging pain that hit him in the head emphasized to him that his current predicament was not a dream or a figment of his imagination.

 _I can't be dead... I can't be dead..._

But deep down in his heart, Mirumo already knew the truth and was unable to lie to himself any longer. Sighing, he calmed down and looked straight at the elderly fairy in the eye. "I really am dead… and there's nothing I can do about it… right?"

"And finally, acceptance," he finished with a somber smile. The old fairy's eyes were filled with compassion and understanding. "Do you see, Mirumo-sama? These are the five stages of grief. Do not worry, young one. Once you accept your situation, I will welcome you with open arms, like every other fairy. As the _Fairy Heaven Overlord_ , every fairy that is sent here is my child." The old man reached into his robe and extended his arm.

In his palm was a golden halo, about six inches in diameter.

 _It's the same halo around Panta's head after he returned_ , Mirumo thought grimly. _So that's where the rascal had gotten it from…_

"Only once you have accepted your situation will you be able to let go and pass on. So then, will you accept, Mirumo-sama?"

Mirumo looked up at the halo held in the elderly fairy's hand, a final apprehensive look on his face.

Did he even really have a choice to begin with…?

"Don't doze off! Pay attention, Mirumo-sama!"

Mirumo jerked his head back in shock upon getting scolded by his mentor, a random fairy that had been assigned to tutor him about the rules and regulations of the Fairy Heaven.

But Mirumo didn't even bother to remember his new mentor's name — he was _that_ unremarkable. It had been approximately a week since he had accepted the offer. And to be perfectly honest, he still wasn't really used to the halo that was now attached to the top of his head.

 _Are you sure I deserve that thing? I've been a mischievous rascal from the very moment I was born! I probably should have gotten the devil horns instead!_

"Your orientation program to the Fairy Heaven isn't complete yet, so please try and keep awake, Mirumo-sama!" he reprimanded gently as he cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I previously was saying, we ghost spirits have a special form of magic as well."

Mirumo perked up. "Wh-what? Excuse me?" Now, _this_ was something new to him. Unlike the usual droning he'd been hearing for the past week, this was genuinely new and interesting information to Mirumo.

"We are born fairies, and even after our mortal lives, our fairy heritage does not die out. We spirits can continue to cast magic even in the afterlife, albeit in a somewhat different form compared to what living fairies are used to casting. For living fairies, their magic is powered by the feelings of humans. However, our magic's power does not come from such earthly forces."

 _Hmph! Speak for yourself!_ Mirumo thought angrily to himself. This guy knew nothing about the Human World at all!

"Ghost magic, on the other hand, is powered by your own will. It namely involves the power of possession. As a fairy ghost, you will now be able to possess and reanimate any inanimate objects that are around you."

Possession of objects? Mirumo jolted up when he realized that he remembered seeing just that. If he recalled correctly, Panta's ukulele instrument allowed him to possess and control inanimate objects in the vicinity!

Seeing Mirumo's face light up, his mentor continued with a chirp, "Now then, Mirumo-sama. Look at your maracas! See how they are glowing white?"

At his prompting, Mirumo glanced down at his maracas. Sure enough, they had a faint white aura around them, which caused the fairy to sigh forlornly. Normally, unless he was using a combination dance via Session magic, his color of magic had always been yellow. It had projected a princely royal aura, and he distinctly liked the color because it matched the glossy color of his maracas.

Now all of that was nothing but a pale shade of white.

His happy demeanor promptly turned to one of sadness. _Just great_ , he thought, _another thing to remind me about my stupid situation._ Much like what he was already doing now, he continued moping about.

How long had he been like this? A few days? Was he cursed to be in this state of depression for all eternity?

His mentor fairy didn't notice the introspective thinking that Mirumo was doing. "Here you go!" his mentor huffed, grunting as he placed an electrical fan down on the ground.

"How did you get this?" Mirumo asked the fairy, surprised to see an actual household appliance up here, of all places.

"Never mind about that!" he coughed in an attempt to change the topic. "Try possessing this fan." Realizing that Mirumo was reluctant, he beckoned with a hand. "Go on! Trust me! It's a lot of fun."

"Fine! Okay, okay! I'll do it!" Mirumo gave in to the other fairy's beckoning as he began to shake his maracas. "Mirumo de Pon!" he shouted as he thrust his maracas outwards, with white colored magic surrounding him instead of the usual yellow.

The first thing Mirumo realized was that he felt lighter than air. No, not exactly that in that way, but to his shock he realized that his physical body had completely vanished. Before he knew it, he was whizzing in the air and headed right towards-no, _into_ the fan. Horrified by the unearthly experience, Mirumo shut his eyes in terror. His one conscious thought was simple and concise.

 _Wh-what the heck is going on!?_

"Hey! Don't shut your eyes, Mirumo-sama," he heard the other fairy lecture. "You're missing out on all the fun! Open them!"

When he acknowledged and opened his eyes, Mirumo almost freaked at what he saw.

He _was_ the fan.

Quite literally, his eyes were in the middle of the fan, and his limbs had become the fan blades. Trying to move his arms, he found himself spinning the blades and letting out a gust of wind instead. _Yeah, this is really awkward_ , he thought. Having enough of this, he jumped out of the fan and materialized back into his fairy form.

"Very good! Excellent work!" Mirumo's mentor praised, clapping his hands. He was clearly impressed by what he saw. "You got the hang of it on your first try, Mirumo-sama! I can see you are very skilled, as expected for a fairy of your caliber."

"Thanks…" Mirumo muttered, feeling a sense of pride at the praise that he'd received. It was the first time he'd felt anything positive in, well, quite some time.

 _Perhaps this won't be so bad after all_ , he pondered as he looked down, taking a good look at his maracas.

He was so wrong.

Stuck in the afterlife, Mirumo felt completely miserable. Years came and went, and yet he found that he'd never gotten any happier. Even after learning everything that there was in being a ghost fairy and adapting to the new rules and regulations, he couldn't enjoy it one bit. Everything new that he learnt would somehow inevitably remind him of something he'd seen or learnt back in the Human or Muglox Worlds…

…and then the painful memories would resurface.

 _"You no longer need fans to fly. Flying may be a pastime for fairies, but as fairy ghosts, you don't have to bother! We can float infinitely!"_

When he had heard that so long ago, it was welcome news to Mirumo. He had always been a lazy fairy, and not needing energy to flap his arms about to take off to the sky and maneuver aerially seemed like such a sweet deal. But afterwards, he realized that in this land of clouds, there was simply no real advantage to floating about.

Back in the Human or Muglox World, flying was used by the fairies often simply because it was the fastest way to travel. But here, there were no destinations, goals, or achievements for being the best floater, as compared to being the best flyer…

 _"You can turn yourself invisible at will! This is sure to get your friends! Isn't it totally cool?"_

Another lesson he'd learnt years ago. _Sure… it could be_ , was Mirumo's first thought. He had thought about all sorts of uses for such an awesome ability. He could take chocolate without ever having to pay for it, he could jump-scare Yashichi and even prank his pesky little brother Murumo…

Then he immediately realized that all of that was Human World stuff, and that as a ghost fairy living his afterlife in Fairy Heaven, he couldn't do any of that. After that sobering realization, Mirumo's mood soured and changed to one of utter indifference, to the point where he simply nodded his head to his mentor for the rest of that lesson.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Mirumo sighed again. He had never felt at ease in the Fairy Heaven, the biggest and most significant problem that he faced was the fact that he wasn't allowed to visit the Human World.

How was his family? Was Kaede and Yuuki's relationship still okay? Was Yashichi still the imbecile fairy who he used to know? How was everyone else?

So many questions that he would never know the answer to!

 _To hell with it_ , Mirumo made up his mind as he got to his feet. He had decided that he was going to get out of here, no matter what the cost. He missed all his friends terribly, and if Panta was somehow able to escape from this place, then so could he!

He couldn't just wind up rotting here for… well, forever! He needed at least some semblance of closure.

Mirumo whizzed up into the air and zoomed towards someone he needed to see — the old fairy who he had met on the first day. That fairy was the one in charge of the Fairy Heaven, basically the Overlord of the entire place, but Mirumo had always called him "the old fairy", even after he had introduced himself as the Fairy Heaven Overlord.

"Hello there, Mirumo-sama," the overlord said, looking at Mirumo gently upon seeing the fairy fly towards him. "Now this is a surprise… what brings you here today?"

Landing in front of the old fairy, Mirumo finally let loose what he had wanted to say for twenty whole years. "Alright, I've had it! I was in this place for over twenty years because of something I had absolutely no control over!" he yelled with a snarl. "No control whatsoever!"

"N-now then—" the old fairy stuttered, before Mirumo cut him off.

"Look, old man! Do I look like I'm actually happy here in this place of supposed eternal happiness?!" Mirumo lashed out, frowning as harshly as he could. "Do I?!"

Seeing Mirumo's cynicism, he sighed and placed a hand to his forehead, making it seem as though he was suffering from a headache. "Ah… I was afraid this day would come…"

"Excuse me?" Mirumo retorted. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were sent here because of the Gaia Tribe, am I correct?"

Mirumo said nothing. The sharp glare in his eyes was answer enough to that question.

"I'll take that as a yes." The elderly overlord heaved out a tired breath, appearing to age tenfold as he turned towards Mirumo.

"Well then, how would you like to go back to the Human World?"

"Really?" Mirumo jolted, not believing his ears. He hadn't expected for his outburst to work. Because if he did, well… he would have yelled at him sooner. Now, for the first time in years, he felt a glimmer of hope spark within him.

"I'm technically going against the Gaia Tribe by doing this. But, then again…" the old fairy had a wily look in his eyes as he continued on, "They never did say that I couldn't take matters into my own hands. Our rules in the Fairy Heaven are different from theirs. They might be the Fairy Gods, but their influence only reigns upon the world of mortals."

The old fairy's tone turned low to get the ecstatic Mirumo's attention. "That said, I have some conditions. The Gaia Tribe know of everything that happens in the Muglox World, so before I allow you back down to the Human World, you must make me two promises."

"Anything!" Mirumo cried out, desperate. "Just name your demand!" If he was still in his youth, he would have almost certainly questioned for a catch to any agreement. But after twenty years of being stuck in this limbo, the former Muglox Prince was desperate for any chance to get out.

"You sure are enthusiastic… and hasty," the fairy overlord commented. "Well, the first condition is that no one who you used to know can realize that you've returned."

Mirumo flinched at the proposal, realizing what the bargainer was implying, "What! But that forgoes the point of me going back there in the first place! Why can nobody know I returned!? It makes no sense!"

"Because once the Gaia Tribe discover that you're back, they won't hesitate to put you back here and bar me from ever letting you come down there again. It is a loophole, after all."

Mirumo opened his mouth to counter with an argument, before keeping quiet when he realized the old fairy had a point. "But… it's been twenty years. Surely they would forget by now?" he asked hopefully.

"That's what you think. Rumors spread fast. Anyone who you knew personally in your past life cannot see or recognize you as Mirumo. The moment anyone finds out… I will personally pull you out myself. No compromises," the old fairy said with a firm tone that showed that he would not give in on this topic.

He then coughed before continuing, "Anyway, the second condition is the same one that I gave Panta. You must find a new human partner within twenty-four hours."

"What? Only twenty-four hours?" Mirumo tried to bargain with him, finding the condition ludicrous, "Come on, cut me some slack! How am I possibly going to find a human partner in a mere twenty-four hours?"

"Ah, but didn't Panta manage to do it?" the old fairy recounted with a wry grin on his face.

"How exactly do you know that Panta accomplished it in the first place?" Mirumo asked with a hint of suspicion in his tone.

"Why, that's simple." The old fairy stroked his beard as he smiled mischievously. "It's because I was the one who let Panta back to begin with. He begged and pleaded with me as well, y'know? I know more than you think, Mirumo. Fact is, if Panta had failed with his own twenty-four-hour deadline, I would have known immediately."

Mirumo winced at being called out. Panta had found Morishita-san as his human partner… but only just barely. Merely a few more seconds and Panta would have run out of time, and that was _after_ he and Kaede had intervened to help.

But unlike Panta, Mirumo had no one to back him up. He was literally on his own this time.

Mirumo folded his arms, annoyed. "Well, it's not like I can say no…" he eventually muttered. "I mean, you are the one calling the shots. Can I even argue?"

"Yes, you're right there." The elder chuckled. "So, it's settled then. Also, before I forget, your new human partner must follow my first condition… in other words, he or she cannot have any knowledge of who you were in your past life. Personally, I would recommend for you to just pick someone at random."

Mirumo nodded along, feeling a smile creeping along his face as the fairy elder continued on, "Once you have found yourself a new human partner, I will let you live again in the mortal realm for the rest of what would have been your natural lifespan. Just consider it a second chance to live your life out, since I too believe that it was unjust for the Gaians to take twenty years of your life away."

Reaching out his arm, the Fairy Heaven Overlord finalized his offer. "So do we have a deal, Mirumo-sama?" he asked with a smile.

Mirumo immediately shook his hand, gripping firmly on the elder's palm as though it was his lifeline. And in a sense, it was. "You've got yourself a deal!" he declared, agreeing with a boisterous voice.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Edited & Rewritten on 27/11/2018._

Personally for me, it's pretty hilarious re-reading this chapter and seeing that I had used the analogy of the Kübler-Ross model with regards to how Mirumo is coping with the drastic situation, considering that I'd recently done up another story which does the Five Stages of Grief concept much better than I had originally done here.

So here we have it — the fateful deal made by Mirumo with the Fairy Heaven Overlord to come back to the Human World as a ghost. As of now, I've managed to rewrite all of _Hickory Dickory Dock!_ Hopefully, should time permit, I'll actually be able to work on continuing new chapters of this story now!

So what will happen next? Will Mirumo succeed in finding a new human partner? Find out next time!


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